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ZINZF.NPORF PROYIPF.NTIAT.I.Y PEMYEREP. 






WYOMING; 



ITS 



HISTORY, STIRRING INCIDENTS, AND 



ROMANTIC ADVENTURES. 



By GEORGE PECK, D.D. 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 




NEW YORK: 

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN SQUARE. 

1858. 



2> 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand 
eight hundred and fifty-eight, by 

HARPER & BROTHERS, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District 

of New York. 



/- K 



PREFACE. 



The present work is composed of a brief history of 
Wyoming, followed by a series of historic scenes, which 
constitute natural amplifications of the general outline. 
Each story is a complete picture in itself, and yet is a 
necessary part of the whole. The plan has the advan- 
tage of presenting independent views of the historic 
drama from many different stand-points. Our heroes 
not only reflect the lights and shades of their own 
character and actions, but give us their separate ver- 
sions of the eventful scenes through which they passed. 

Forty years since we first visited Wyoming, and 
from that period we have enjoyed rare advantages for 
the study of its history. How we have improved our 
opportunities will appear in the work which we now 
present to the public. Our object has been strict con- 
formity to historic- truth, and we have spared no pains 
in the collection of facts, and in their study and expo- 
sition. 

The events herein recorded constitute a part of the 
wonderful history of the early development and fear- 
ful struggles of America, and we believe they will not 
fall behind any portion of that story in exciting in- 
terest. 

With the diffidence which a profound sense of the 
difficulties to be overcome in the execution of such a 
work naturally inspires, we publish the result of our 



vi PREFACE. 

labors, hoping that it may both interest and instruct 
the reading community. The work, so far as we are 
concerned, has been a "labor of love," and our desire 
is that it may inspire in the reader a spirit of enlarged 
patriotism, noble heroism, patient endurance under se- 
vere trials, trust in Providence, and gratitude to God. 

We have the pleasure to acknowledge the kindness 
of several who have afforded us valuable assistance 
in our labors. In addition to the acknowledgments 
of favors which will be found in the body of the work, 
we would return thanks to the Hon. George Bancroft 
for the use of an important document, and for vari- 
ous suggestions ; to Benson J. Lossing, Esq., for sev- 
eral important authorities, and much valuable aid in 
the illustrations ; to the Hon. George W. Woodward, 
and to the Hon. George M. Dallas, our minister to the 
court of St. James, for the use of an important paper 
from the archives of the British government ; also to 
several ladies for fine artistic sketches of objects and 
scenes which are used as illustrations. We owe to 
Mrs. Rev. Sclah Stocking, of Pittston, thanks for orig- 
inal sketches of Campbell's Ledge and Falling Spring ; 
to Mrs. Dr. Crane, of Pennington, N. J., for a sketch 
of the old Myers House ; and to Miss Miranda Myers 
for sketches of Toby's Cave and the Umbrella-tree. 

To all who in any way have given us facilities, we 
return many thanks, and it is to be hoped that they 
will find their reward in a conviction that they have 
contributed something to the object of giving per- 
manency to the facts of history which will be valuable 
to posterity, but which might otherwise have passed 
into oblivion. 

George Peck. 

Sckanton, 18th April, 1858. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter Page 

I. WYOMING — ITS HISTORY 9 

II. BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES 71 

III. COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK 99 

IV. INCIDENTS AND ADVENTURES RELATED BY MRS. MARTHA 

MYERS 133 

V. SKETCHES AND INCIDENTS COMMUNICATED BY MRS. DEB- 
ORAH BEDFORD 200 

VI. INCIDENTS OF THE WARS IN THE LACKAWANNA PORTION 

OF THE SETTLEMENT, RELATED BY MRS. MARTHA MARCY 220 
VII. MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT'S ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE AND 

FLIGHT - 231 

VIII. THE CAPTIVE GIRL, FRANCES SLOCUM 234 

ix. queen Esther's rock 284 

X. CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF THOMAS AND ANDREW BEN- 
NET AND LEBBEUS HAMMOND 291 

XI. THE CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF JONAH ROGERS, MOSES 

VAN CAMPEN, PETER PENCE, AND ABRAM PIKE 304: 

XII. THE CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF GEORGE P. RANSOM AND 

OTHERS 315 

XIII. BENJAMIN BIDLACK CAPTURE BY THE PENNAMITES AND 

SINGULAR ESCAPE 330 

XIV. A VIEW FROM CAMPBELL'S LEDGE, CONTRIBUTED BY REV. 

L. W. PECK 344 

XV. AN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD GARDNER 351 

XVI. PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE CF RUFUS BENNET ON THE 

FATAL 3D OF JULY 362 

XVII. NOAH HOPKINS HIS LIFE SAVED BY A SPIDER 369 

XVin. THE FRATRICIDE 371 

XIX. THE MONUMENT 376 

XX. COLONEL JOHN JENKINS 388 

XXI. ORIGINAL JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT 405 

XXII. MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES 417 

The Umbrella-Tree — rrospect Kock — Harvey's Lake — Toby's Ed- 
dy — Toby's Cave — Seminaries. 

INDEX 431 



WYOMING. 



i. 

ITS HISTORY. 



Among the mountains which lift up their heads, in 
countless numbers and in all shapes, between the Blue 
Eidge and the Alleghanies, on the banks of the wind- 
ing Susquehanna, lies the classic vale of Wyoming. It 
is not so much distinguished for its magnitude as for 
its beauty, its mineral wealth, and its historical inci- 
dents. 

Wyoming is a corruption of the name given to the 
locality by the Indians. They called it Maughwau- 
wame. The word is compounded of maughwau, large, 
and wame, plains. The name, then, signifies The 
Large Plains. The Delawares pronounced the first 
syllable short, and the German missionaries, in order 
to come as near as possible to the Indian pronuncia- 
tion, wrote the name M'chweuwami. The early set- 
tlers, finding it difficult to pronounce the word cor- 
rectly, spoke it Wauwaumie, then Wiawumie, then 
Wiomic, and, finally, Wyoming. 

The valley of Wyoming lies northeast and south- 
west, is twenty-one miles in length, and an average of 
three miles in breadth. The face of the country is 
considerably diversified. The bottom-lands along the 
river overflow at high water. The plains are in some 
places perfectly level, and in others rolling. The soil 

A2 



v 



10 WYOMING. 

is exceedingly productive, being suited to all sorts of 
grain and grass. 

Two ranges of mountains hem in the valley, the 
eastern range being of an average height of one thou- 
sand feet, and the western about eight hundred. The 
eastern range is precipitous and generally barren, but 
is strikingly diversified with clefts, ravines, and forests, 
and presents a most picturesque view. The western 
range is rapidly yielding to the process of cultivation. 

There are several charming points of view which in- 
vite the attention of the lovers of the beautiful and the 
grand in nature : Prospect Eock, west of the old town 
of Wilkesbarre, being the easiest of access from the 
town, and the most frequently visited, is the most cel- 
ebrated in the annals of 'travel. From this point the 
valley, with the slope of the west mountain, presents 
the appearance of a beautiful ascending plain, with the 
remotest border merged in the clouds, or bounded by 
the blue sky. A more charming landscape can not be 
imagined. The view from the mountain side west of 
Forty Fort gives you a more extensive prospect of the 
northern and southern extremities of the valley. From 
this point you have a fair view of the northern gap 
through which the Susquehanna forces its way — of the 
Lackawanna Yalley, Pittston, Wyoming, Wilkesbarre, 
Kingston, Newport, and Jacob's Plains. Campbell's 
Ledge is becoming a favorite point of view for the ro- 
mantic and athletic. This high peak is situated at the 
head of the valley. The ascent is laborious, but the 
sublimity of the scene amply rewards the toil of the 
traveler. 

Torrents gush through deep gorges in the mount- 
ains on either side, Blackening their speed as they en- 
ter the valley, and sluggishly meander through the 



ITS HISTORY. 11 

level plains and flats until they find their way to the 
river. These creeks are each dignified by the name 
of some Indian chief who dwelt on its banks, and fig- 
ure considerably in the history of the country. 

From whatever point the valley is surveyed, the no- 
ble Susquehanna is one of the many beautiful objects 
which present themselves to the gaze. Such are its 
windings, and such the variety which characterizes its 
banks, that you have no extended view of it. It is 
only seen in sections, varied in size and form by the 
position occupied. Now it hides itself among the 
bowers of willow, sycamore, and maple which fringe 
and beautify its borders, and now it throws open its 
mirror bosom to the kisses of the sunlight, and reflects 
the forms of beauty and grandeur of the surrounding 
scenery. 

" The Large Plains," when first visited by the whites 
for purposes of settlement, were in the possession of 
the Delaware Indians. The Delawares had once been 
a powerful tribe, but had been subjected by the Iro- 
quois, or the six confederated nations, and by them 
were ordered to leave the country on the Delaware, 
east of the Blue Eidge, and occupy Wyoming. The 
Nanticokes had settled on the lower extremity of the 
valley, on the east side of the river, and the Shawanese 
were located on the flats immediately over against 
them on the west side. But these tribes finally re- 
moved — the Nanticokes up the river, and the Shawa- 
nese to Ohio. How the Delawares became sole mas- 
ters of the valley may be learned from the following 
interesting relation : 

" While the warriors of the Delawares were engaged 
upon the mountains in a hunting expedition, a num- 
ber of squaws, or female Indians, from Maughwau- 



12 WYOMING. 

wame, were gathering wild fruits along the margin of 
the river, below the town, where they found a number 
of Shawanese squaws and their children, who had 
crossed the river in their canoes upon the same busi- 
ness. A child belonging to the Shawanese having 
taken a large grasshopper, a quarrel arose among the 
children for the possession of it, in which their moth- 
ers soon took a part, and, as the Delaware squaws 
contended that the Shawanese had no privileges upon 
that side of the river, the quarrel soon became gen- 
eral; but the Delawares, being the most numerous, 
soon drove the Shawanese to their canoes and to their 
own bank, a few having been killed on both sides. 
Upon the return of the warriors, both tribes prepared 
for battle, to revenge the wrongs which they consider- 
ed their wives had sustained. 

" The Shawanese, upon crossing the river, found the 
Delawares ready to receive them and oppose their 
landing. A dreadful conflict took place between the 
Shawanese in their canoes and the Delawares on the 
bank. At length, after great numbers had been kill- 
ed, the Shawanese effected a landing, and a battle took 
place about a mile below Maughwauwame, in which 
many hundred warriors are said to have been killed 
on both sides ; but the Shawanese were so much weak- 
ened in landing that they were not able to sustain the 
conflict, and, after the loss of about half their tribe, the 
remainder were forced to flee to their own side of the 
river, shortly after which they abandoned their town 
and removed to the Ohio." — Chapman ] s History of 
Wyoming. 

The ancient fortifications which are found scattered 
over the country, and prove that it was once peopled 
by warlike tribes or nations which had made consid- 



ITS HISTORY. 13 

erable advances in civilization, were found in Wyo- 
ming. One of these was situated on the eastern branch 
of Toby's Creek, below the old Esquire Pierce place, 
or the place occupied by the late Pierce Butler, Esq. 
There are persons still living who recollect this ancient 
monument of an extinguished race, but every trace of 
it is now obliterated. Another of these ancient rel- 
ics was situated on the east side of the Susquehanna, 
opposite Forty Fort. We explored this ground some 
twenty years since, in company with the venerable his- 
torian of Wyoming, Hon. Charles Miner. At that 
time, a lane running along the side of one of the em- 
bankments had protected it from being leveled by the 
plow. It was then in a good state of preservation, 
several feet in height, with a corresponding ditch. 
When the whites first visited the valley, there were 
large pine and oak trees growing on the embankments 
of these ancient forts, and the oldest Indians could 
give no account of their origin, or the purposes which 
they were designed to serve. 

It was missionary zeal that first penetrated this se- 
cluded region. 

Count Zinzendorf is believed to be the first white 
man who set his foot upon The Great Plains. In 1742 
he came with an interpreter, and erected his tent near 
the Indian village, and proposed a talk. He was a 
messenger from the Great Spirit, sent to teach the red 
man the true worship. He had crossed the seas upon 
this benevolent errand, without the hope of earthly 
gain. The savages could not comprehend the fact 
that he had taken so much pains to visit them with no 
selfish motive. Concluding that it was the object of 
the pale faces to take their lands from them, they re- 
solved to terminate the enterprise by their immediate 



14 



WYOMING. 




OOTTNT ZINZENDOEP. 



destruction. A few warriors selected for the purpose 
stealthily approached the tent of the unsuspecting 
stranger by night to accomplish their designs, when a 
strange providence interfered. Peeping through an 
opening of the tent, they saw a huge rattlesnake crawl 
over the feet of the strange visitor without interrupt- 
ing his composure, as he sat upon a bundle of weeds 
engaged in writing. Considering that he was protect- 
ed by the Great Spirit, they departed without offering 
him the least molestation. To this circumstance has 
been attributed the success of the Moravian missiona- 
ries among the Delawares, or at least their first favor- 
able reception among that savage people. 

As early as 1750, a few daring adventurers from 
New England had crossed the mountains, and pushed 
their way toward the setting sun, until from the heights 



ITS HISTORY. 15 

of the Susquehanna range they gazed upon the most 
lovely natural landscape which the eye ever beheld. 
The primeval forests covered the slopes of the mount- 
ains, while the plains and river-bottom were here and 
there imperfectly cultivated by the Indians, who as 
yet held undisputed possession of the country west of 
the Delaware. Wild fruits and flowers garnished the 
hill sides, the deep ravines, and the river banks. The 
wild grape hung in clusters upon the vines, which 
clung to the branches of the trees and waved in the 
breeze. Vegetation of all kinds flourished in wonder- 
ful luxuriance. 

" So on he fares, and to the border comes 
Of Eden, where delicious Paradise, 
Now nearer, crowns with her inclosure green, 
As with a rural mound, the champaign head 
Of a steep wilderness, whose hairy sides 
. With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild : 
* * * and overhead up grew, 
Insuperable height of loftiest shade, 
Cedar, and pine, and fir, and branching palm, 
A sylvan scene ; and as the ranks ascend 
Shade above shade, a woody theatre 
Of stateliest mien. 

******* 

Another side, umbrageous grots and caves 
Of cool recess, o'er which the mantling vine 
Lays forth her purple grape, and gently creeps 
Luxuriant : meanwhile murmuring waters fall 
Down the slope hills, dispersed, or in a lake, 
That to the fringed bank with myrtle crowned 
Her crystal mirror holds, unite their streams." 

Milton. 

The mountains and the vales were thickly inhabit- 
ed by an endless variety of wild game, which had not 
yet learned to fear the white man and to elude his arts ; 
the waters were stored with an abundance of fish ; and 



16 




the air was made vocal with the songs of the feathered 
tribes that discoursed the sweet music of nature. 

"Then, when of Indian hills the daylight takes 
His leave, how might you the flamingo see 
Disporting like a meteor on the lakes — 

And playful squirrel on his nut-grown tree : 
And every sound of life was full of glee, 

From merry mock-bird's song or hum of men ; 
"While hearkening, fearing naught their revelry, 

The wild deer arched his neck from glades, and then, 
Unlimited, sought his woods and wilderness again." 

Campbell's Gertrude of Wyoming. 

These adventurers returned to the rocky hills of 
Connecticut and Massachusetts with the most wonder- 
ful tales of a sort of " Paradise" which lay away among 
the western mountains. To the visitors themselves, 



ITS HISTORY. 17 

the imagery wliich lingered in their memory seemed 
like a vision of celestial scenery ; and to those who 
listened to their vivid descriptions, the whole seemed a 
mere romance. New parties followed " to spy out the 
land," and they returned with something more than a 
mere confirmation of the reports of their predecessors. 
The whole country was filled with wonder, and a de- 
sire naturally sprung up in many minds to see the 
glories of the goodly land for themselves. Plans were 
formed for early emigration to " Wyoming on the Sus- 
quehanna," and many hearts beat high, and many 
strong arms were ready for the hazards of the enter- 
prise. 

The mountains and rivers could be crossed, the wil- 
derness could be threaded, the wild beasts could be 
driven from their lairs ; but there was still a difficulty 
which seemed insuperable — it was the ownership and 
occupancy of the soil by the Indians. This obstacle 
must be overcome by negotiation, by purchase, by kind 
treatment, if possible ; but if not, by the appliances of 
war. The settlement of Wyoming by the whites was 
a foregone conclusion, and the only question about it 
was that of time. The country was visited every sea- 
son by small parties, whose object was to test the state 
of the savage mind, and to determine the question of 
the safety of white settlers in the neighborhood of the 
Indians.* 

* In 1754, Conrad Weiser, a famous Indian interpreter, and agent 
for the proprietary government of Pennsylvania, on a visit to the In- 
dians at Shemokin, reports: "The Indians in Susquehanna and 
about Shemokin saw some of the New England men that came as 
spies to Woyomoek last fall ; and they saw them making drafts of 
the land and rivers, and are much offended about it. They asked 
me about them. I told them we had heard so much as that, and 
that we had intelligence from New England that they came against 



18 WYOMING. 

The conflicts which occurred between the people of 
Connecticut and Pennsylvania in relation to the right 
of settlement and jurisdiction constitute so prominent 
a part of the early history of Wyoming, that it will be 
proper here to notice the grounds of their respective 
claims. "King Charles II., by letters patent, under 
the great seal of England, granted a tract of land in 
America to William Penn, Esq., his heirs and assigns, 
and made him and them the true and absolute propri- 
etors thereof, saving always to the crown the faith and 
allegiance of the said William Penn, his heirs and as- 
signs, and of the tenants and inhabitants of the prem- 
ises, and saving also unto the crown the sovereignty of 
the said country." 

The country was "thereby erected into a province 
and sovereignty, and called Pennsylvania." 

"And thereby granted free, full, and absolute power 
unto the said William Penn and his heirs, and to his 
and their deputies and lieutenants, for the good and 
happy government of the country, to ordain, make, 
enact, and, under his and their seals, to publish any 
laws whatsoever." — See Pennsylvania Archives \ vol. ii., 
p. 100, 101. 

Under this charter a government was instituted, 
consisting of a governor and council, but the Penns 

the advice of their superiors as a parcel of headstrong men, and dis- 
turbers of the peace. They, the Indians, said they were glad to hear 
that neither their brother Onos nor their own chief men had sent 
them, and they hoped they would not be supported by any English 
government in their so doing." — Letter to the Governor: Colonial Rec- 
ords, vol. vi., p. 35. 

This was the first attempt which was made to sketch a rude map 
of the country preparatory to the formation of a settlement. It is 
believed by their descendants that the elder John Jenkins and Thom- 
as Bennet were in this company. 



ITS HISTORY. 19 

owned the soil in fee. Their policy was to lay out all 
the best lands into manors, and settle them by tenants 
under leases. Thus some of the most objectionable 
features of the old feudal system were established in 
Pennsylvania. The proprietaries, of course, were op- 
posed to emigrations from other states to their lands, 
except to such of them as were worthless. Settlers 
were, consequently, often driven off by force, and their 
houses burned. 

In 1754, Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, wrote 
to Governor Wolcott, of Connecticut, remonstrating 
against the scheme of some of the Connecticut people 
to settle Wyoming. At the same time, he offered them 
lands " in the western parts of this province," or to 
use his good offices to procure them the privilege of 
settling in "Virginia." 

Governor Wolcott made a very cautious but perti- 
nent answer, taking special pains to urge that wherev- 
er settlers were permitted to take possession of lands 
in Pennsylvania, they should be made " freeholders." 
He suggested that, in the event of war with the French, 
" the resolution of the soldier will be very much, in 
fighting for his country, according to his interest in it." 
" If I must go out," says he, " let me have an army of 
freeholders or freeholders' sons." He then proceeds 
to give the result of his experience in the case of " the 
siege of Louisburg," and then continues : 

"Whenever the war commences with you, I think 
a small army of such men, well appointed and disci- 
plined, will soon convince the French of their error in 
provoking and insulting of you ; I think a few of them 
will be more than a match for a multitude of their 
plebs, brought up in slavery, and who have nothing to 
fight for of their own. 



20 WYOMING. 

" This brings to mind a story a gentleman told me, 
that he went in to see his negro man, then dying, and 
seeing him just gone, said to him, ' Cuffy, you are just 
going; are you not sorry?' 'No,' says the fellow; 
1 master, the loss won't be mine.' " 

The Pennamite and Yankee wars were not merely 
a conflict between the proprietaries of Pennsylvania 
and the Susquehanna Company for the jurisdiction of 
the country — it was not a mere question of boundary, 
but a question between landlord and tenantry. The 
question was one in which the tenantry of Pennsyl- 
vania generally were interested, and, consequently, the 
cause of the proprietaries was never popular with that 
class. Wyoming was the battle-field where the ques- 
tion was to be settled whether the people who culti- 
vated the soil should be serfs or freeholders. We do 
not pretend that this was the open ostensible issue 
made, but it is beyond a doubt that this question lay 
at the bottom of the controversy, and had much to do 
with its progress and termination. If the laborers and 
producers were to be made freeholders, it could make 
but little difference whence they came ; but if they 
were to be mere tenants, it would be somewhat import- 
ant that they should not have been educated in the 
spirit of freedom and independence, but should have 
the views and feelings of servants rather than those of 
citizens. The New England people might be allowed 
to settle in the Alleghanies, to constitute a sort of 
breakwater against the overflowing of the French arms, 
but it would never do to give them possession of the 
fertile plains and valleys along the Delaware and Sus- 
quehanna. The Yankees were not likely to be the 
pliant tools suited to the objects and policy of the aris- 
tocratic proprietaries. They had trouble enough with 



ITS HISTORY. 21 

those whom they had trained to their hand, and the 
tide of Yankee emigration which was setting in from 
the east bid fair to result in more general discontent, if 
not in revolution. Hence the diplomacy of the pro- 
prietaries had for its object, not the settlement of the 
northern boundary of the province, but preventing em- 
igration from the east; and, as will be seen as we 
proceed, the quasi civil, but really military proceedings 
with the settlers was not designed to secure their rec- 
ognition of the civil jurisdiction of the proprietaries, but 
nolens volens to expel the intruders from the country. 

The charter granted to "The Plymouth Company" 
by James I. covered the territory " from the fortieth 
to the forty-sixth degree of north latitude, extending 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.' 1 '' This charter 
was granted under the great seal of England, on No- 
vember 3, 1620, to the Duke of Lenox, the Marquis of 
Buckingham, the Earl of Arundel and Warwick, and 
their associates, "for the planting, ruling, ordering, and 
governing of New England, in America." The char- 
ter of Connecticut was derived from the Plymouth 
Company, of which the Earl of Warwick was pres- 
ident. This grant was made in March, 1621, to Vis- 
count Say and Seal, Lord Brooke, and their associates. 
It covered the country west of Connecticut "to the 
extent of its breadth, being about one degree of lati- 
tude from sea to sea." This grant was confirmed by 
the king the same year, and also in 1662. " The New 
Netherlands," or New York, being then a Dutch pos- 
session, was excepted in these grants under the gen- 
eral limitation of such portions of territory as were 
" then possessed or inhabited by any other Christian 
prince or state." — See Col. Stone's History of Wyoming. 

By the terms of this charter, the people ofConnecti- 



22 WYOMING. 

cut very reasonably considered themselves entitled to 
the territory within the latitudes above specified, west 
of "the New Netherlands," and began to cast a long- 
ing eye upon the fertile lands lying upon the Dela- 
ware and Susquehanna. About fifty years after the 
charter to Lords Say and Seal, and Brooke, the crown 
granted a charter to William Penn, which covered a 
portion of the grant to Connecticut, equal to one de- 
gree of latitude and five of longitude, which embraced 
the rich and inviting valley of Wyoming. This was 
the first ground of the feuds which arose between the 
Connecticut and Pennsylvania people, and which oc- 
casioned much trouble and distress to the early set- 
tlers. 

In 1753 an association was formed in Connecticut, 
called " The Susquehanna Company," for the purpose 
of forming a settlement in Wyoming ; but, that this 
company might not come into conflict with the native 
occupants of the soil, a commission was appointed " to 
explore the country and conciliate their good-will." 
The company now embraced about six hundred per- 
sons, many of them men of wealth and high* respecta- 
bility. A deputation was appointed to meet a great 
council of the Six Nations at Albany in 1754, and, if 
possible, effect a purchase of the land. As the trans- 
action was not secret, Governor Hamilton, of Pennsyl- 
vania, sent to Albany a deputation, consisting of "John 
and Richard Penn, Isaac Norris, and Benjamin Frank- 
lin" to prevent the purchase by the Susquehanna Com- 
pany. Notwithstanding this formidable opposition, 
strengthened as it was by the influence of Sir William 
Johnson, the purchase was effected. The sum paid 
was " two thousand pounds, of current money of the 
province of New York." Colonel Stone has given us, 



ITS HISTORY. 23 

in an Appendix to the second edition of his History, a 
" copy of the deed of purchase," duly executed by the 
" chief sachems and heads of the Five Nations of In- 
dians, called the Iroquois, and the native proprietors," 
&c. Among these " chief sachems" is the famous Mo- 
hawk chief Brant, who subsequently figured so largely 
in the war of the Eevolution. The names of the pur- 
chasers are also embraced, owners of full shares "five 
hundred and thirty -four in number," and of " half 
shares" "one hundred and thirty-six;" most of them 
from "y e colony of Connecticut, in New England," 
some "of the colony of Khode Island," some "of the 
government of Pennsylvania," some "of the province 
of y e Massachusetts Bay," and some " of the province 
of New York." The following are the boundaries of 
the purchase : 

" Beginning from the one and fortieth degree of 
north latitude at ten miles distance east of Susquehan- 
na Biver, and from thence with a northwardly line ten 
miles east of the river, to the forty-second or begin- 
ning of the forty -third degree north latitude, and so to 
extend west, two degrees of longitude, one hundred 
and twenty miles south, to the beginning of the forty- 
second degree, and from thence east to the afore-men- 
tioned bound, which is ten miles east of the Susque- 
hanna River." — Colonel Stone's History, p. 389. 

Having thus procured what they considered a valid 
title to the soil, the Susquehanna Company took pre- 
paratory steps for the planting of a settlement in Wy- 
oming; but the agitations among the Indians, occa- 
sioned by " the French war," prevented them from ac- 
complishing their purposes until the year 1762, when 
about two hundred men pushed their way into the val- 
ley, and commenced clearing farms just below Mill 



24 WYOMING. 

Creek, and at a sufficient distance from the Indian 
town, which was situated on the flats below the pres- 
ent town of Wilkesbarre. They felled the timber, and 
constructed huts, and, before winter set in, had sown 
extensive fields of wheat. They secured their imple- 
ments, and returned to Connecticut to winter. In the 
spring they returned with their families, cattle, furni- 
ture, &c, but little meditating the dreadful fate which 
awaited them. 

" The season had been favorable ; their various crops 
on those fertile plains had proved abundant, and they 
were looking forward with hope to scenes of prosperity 
and happiness ; but suddenly, without the least warn- 
ing, on the 15th of October, a large party of savages 
raised the war-whoop, and attacked them with fury. 
Unprepared for resistance, about twenty men fell and 
were scalped ; the residue, men, women, and children, 
fled, in wild disorder, to the mountains. Language 
can not describe the sufferings of the fugitives as they 
traversed the wilderness, destitute of food or clothing, 
on their way to their former homes." — Miner's History 
of Wyoming, p. 54. 

After this massacre, the Indians, anticipating a mil- 
itary movement against them on the part of the gov- 
ernor of Pennsylvania, left the valley, the Christian 
portion of them removing east to the Moravian town, 
Gnadenhutten, and the others north to Tioga. Six 
years now intervened before the Connecticut people 
made another attempt to settle "Wyoming. But in the 
mean time "the proprietaries of Pennsylvania" availed 
themselves of an Indian council assembled at Fort 
Stanwix in 1768, and purchased the disputed territory 
from some of the chiefs. A deputation of four chiefs 
from the Six Nations had been sent to Hartford in 



ITS HISTORY. 25 

1763 to disclaim the sale made to the Susquehanna 
Company, and in the talk of the speaker, he asserted 
that the Six Nations knew nothing of the sale of this 
land, and furthermore remarked, "What little we have 
left we intend to keep for ourselves." This was a mere 
ruse, as is evident from their selling the same land five 
years subsequently to the proprietaries of Pennsylva- 
nia. They were, in fact, ready to sell land whenever 
they could find purchasers; and as to any conflict 
which might afterward arise among rival claimants, 
that was not their look out. After all, the poor In- 
dians were not so much in fault as were the designing 
white men, who had interests to serve by involving 
them in improper and contradictory acts. 

This fair valley was next to be made the scene of 
civil war ; and in contending for the rich prize, the 
blood of one white man was to be spilled by the hand 
of another white man. The parties had exhausted 
their diplomatic skill; each had sent deputations to 
the mother country, and in turn obtained the most re- 
spectable legal decisions in their favor. Nothing 
seemed left to them but to maintain their claims by 
force. 

The Susquehanna Company sent a body of forty 
pioneers into the valley in February, 1769, to be fol- 
lowed by two hundred more in the spring. But the 
proprietaries of Pennsylvania, anticipating the move- 
ment, had leased the valley for seven years to Charles 
Stuart, Amos Ogden, and John Jennings, on condition 
that they should establish a trading-house for the ac- 
commodation of the Indians, and adopt the necessary 
measures for defending themselves, and those who 
might settle under their lease. These men, with a 
small party, had proceeded to Wyoming, and fortified 

B 



26 WYOMING. 

themselves m a block-house, where the forty Yankees 
found them upon their arrival. 

A series of conflicts now ensued, which we can not 
here detail, but which were characterized by the usual 
circumstances and elements of war upon the largest 
scale, and attended with incidents and adventures of 
rare interest, many of which will be found in the fol- 
lowing sketches. Erecting fortifications, investments, 
escalades, capitulations, surprises, ambuscades, battles, 
marches, countermarches, retreats, taking prisoners, and 
violating pledges for the security of property, are all 
duly chronicled in the histories. During this period 
the Yankees were three times driven from the valley, 
and obliged to thread their way, with their wives and 
children, through an unbroken wilderness of two hund- 
red miles, back to their former homes. But they as 
often rallied and returned to the charge with accumu- 
lated numbers, until, finally, they were able to kee}:> 
possession of the prize. The proprietaries were unpop- 
ular even in Pennsylvania, and it became impossible 
for them, even with the aid of all the industry and 
skill of Captain Ogden, to raise a sufficient force finally 
to dispossess the Yankees, until the rupture between 
Great Britain and her colonies directed the attention 
of all parties to the common defense of the country, 
and, for the time being, put a period to the civil war. 

The object of the Connecticut people had been the 
establishment of an independent colony, and thej^ had, 
accordingly, petitioned the parent government to this 
effect. But, as this object could not be secured with- 
out much delay, and as the Legislature of Connecticut 
was cautious of assuming any responsibility which 
would involve the state in the quarrel, the Susque- 
hanna Company met at Hartford, June 2, 1773, and 



ITS HISTORY. 27 

adopted a provisional plan of government, on truly re- 
publican principles, and every way worthy of the heads 
and hearts of the best statesmen of the age.* 

Under this form of government the people lived in 
great harmony and prosperity, and the colony rapidly 
increased in numbers. In the mean time, the Legisla- 
tive Assembly of Connecticut made an effort to procure 
a settlement of the difficulty, but Governor Penn closed 
his ears to all propositions, and even refused to recog- 
nize the deputation sent from Connecticut. Upon this 
the assembly made up a case, and transmitted it to En- 
gland for the legal opinions of the ablest counsel. 

" This case was submitted to Edward, afterward Lord 
Thurlow, Alexander Wedderburn, Richard Jackson, 
and J. Dunning, all famous for their learning in the 
law, who gave a \mited opinion in favor of the com- 
pany. Thus fortified, the General Assembly of Con- 
necticut took higher ground, and, perceiving how great- 
ly the colony was flourishing, in October, 1773, they 
passed a resolution asserting their claim to the juris- 
diction of the territory, and their determination, in 
some proper way, to support the claim." — Col. Stone. 

The following year Wyoming was constituted a 
town, by the name of Westmoreland, and connected 
with Litchfield county, and a census taken at the close 
of the year showed that the town numbered one thou- 
sand nine hundred and twenty-two inhabitants. 

The great events of 1775 seriously affected the in- 
habitants of Westmoreland. The Indians committed 
some outrages within the limits of the town, and, though 
they made hollow professions of a pacific disposition, 
were evidently preparing for war. Several families 
from the north, who were hostile to the American 

* For which, see Mr. Miner's History, p. 146-149. 



28 WYOMING. 

cause, came into the settlement, who, with good reason, 
were considered bad neighbors. The following notes 
of the town meetings will show the spirit of the people 
in taking incipient steps for the common defense : 

"At a town meeting, held March 10, Voted, that 
the first man that shall make fifty weight of good salt- 
petre in this town, shall be entitled to a bounty of ten 
pounds, lawful money, to be paid out of the town treas- 
ury. 

"Voted, that the selectmen be directed to dispose 
of the grain now in the hands of the treasurer, or col- 
lector, in such way as to obtain powder and lead to the 
value of forty pounds, lawful money, if they can do the 
same." 

"At a town meeting legally warned and held, in 
Westmoreland, Wilkesbarre District, August 24, 1776, 

" Colonel Butler was chosen moderator for the work 
of the day. 

"Voted, as the opinion of this meeting, that it now 
becomes necessary for the inhabitants of this town to 
erect suitable forts, as a defense against our common 
enemy." 

A regiment of militia having been established, the 
meeting voted that " the three field officers should be 
a committee to fix on the sites of the forts, lay them 
out, and give directions how they should be built." 
Then was adopted what Mr. Miner calls "the follow- 
ing beautiful vote, which," says he, " we leave, in its 
simplicity, to speak its own eulogium." 

" That the above said committee do recommend it 
to the people to proceed forthwith in building said 
forts, without either fee or reward from y e town." 

In November of this memorable year (1776), West- 
moreland was, by the Legislative Council of Connccti- 



ITS HISTORY. 29 

cut, erected into a county, with, a complete civil and 
military organization. Congress also ordered that 
"two companies, on the Continental establishment, be 
raised in the town of Westmoreland, and stationed in 
proper places for the defense of the inhabitants of said 
town, and posts adjacent, till farther orders from Con- 
gress." The companies, consisting of eighty -two men 
each, were organized, and officers appointed. But when 
the British took possession of New York, Washington 
crossed the Delaware, and Congress were taking meas- 
ures to retire from Philadelphia to Baltimore, the two 
companies were ordered to join General Washington 
' ' with all possible expedition. ' ' This order was prompt- 
ly obeyed, which took nearly all the able-bodied men 
and arms from the settlement. 

In the summer of 1777 the Six Nations were brought 
into the field as auxiliaries of the British forces, and 
commenced their operations in their own peculiar mode 
of warfare all along the frontier. Wyoming was pe- 
culiarly exposed, being situated at the distance of sixty 
miles from the white settlements, east and south, and 
their strength having been drawn away by the emer- 
gencies of the war ; for, in addition to the two compa- 
nies above referred to, further enlistments were made, 
in all amounting to some three hundred. Application 
was made to Congress for aid, but without effect. The 
helpless females sent to the army the most pressing 
calls to their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers, who 
constituted the Westmoreland companies, to hasten to 
their relief, and the men begged for the privilege of ful- 
filling the purposes of their enlistment — "the defense 
of the inhabitants of said town." But Congress and 
Connecticut were both deaf to every entreaty. All 
that was done was an order passed by Congress that 



30 WYOMING. 

" one full company of foot be raised in the toivn of West- 
moreland, for the defense of the said town," and "that 
the said company find their own arms, ammunition, and 
blankets /" This amounted to nothing, as it did not in- 
crease the force of the settlement. The commissioned 
officers resigned, and, together with twenty or thirty 
men who obtained leave, or went without leave, re- 
turned to the settlement to share the common peril. 
The Indians made a great show of peace ; but a drunk- 
en Indian in a revel — one of a company of spies who 
came upon a pretense of negotiation — let out the secret 
of a meditated onslaught upon the settlement. This, 
together with the suspicious movements of the Tory 
settlers, several families of whom were situated at the 
head of the valley, and seemed to be acting the part 
of spies, created no inconsiderable alarm. The settlers 
had erected, on each side of the river, several forts, 
some of them consisting of logs planted in the ground, 
and standing about fourteen feet high, and others mere 
log pens, or block-houses, with loop-holes. The former 
were provided with log huts, in which the women and 
children might find shelter in cases of danger from the 
enemy. The principal fort on the west side of the 
river was called Forty Fort, constructed by the forty 
pioneers who came into the valley in the winter of 
1769, and enlarged and strengthened in 1776, situated 
two miles above Wilkesbarre. In the arrangements 
for the defense of the settlement, as will be seen by the 
following, the women acted a conspicuous part : 

"Justice and gratitude demand a tribute to the praise- 
worthy spirit of the wives and daughters of "Wyoming. 
While their husbands and fathers were on public duty, 
they cheerfully assumed a large portion of the labor 
which females could do. They assisted to plant, made 



ITS HISTORY. 31 

hay, husked and garnered the corn. As the settlement 
was mainly dependent on its own resources for powder, 
Mr. Hollenback caused to be brought up the river a 
pounder ; and the women took up their floors, dug out 
the earth, put it in casks, and run water through it (as 
ashes are leached) ; then took ashes in another cask, 
and made ley ; mixed the water from the earth with 
weak ley, boiled it, set it to cool, and the saltpetre rose 
to the top. Charcoal and sulphur were then used, and 
powder produced for the public defense." — Miner's 
History, p. 212. 

We need add nothing by way of completing the 
picture. While fathers and sons, grandfathers and 
grandsons, were scouring up their old muskets, moth- 
ers, daughters, and grandmothers were busily employed 
in manufacturing powder ! 

NORTHERN BORDER WARS. 

In order to a more perfect understanding of the ori- 
gin and character of the disastrous war waged upon 
the settlers in Wyoming, we will direct the attention 
of the reader to the course of events upon the north- 
ern border. 

Sir William Johnson came into the valley of the 
Mohawk when he was a young man, about forty years 
previous to the Eevolutionary war. The emergencies 
of the times gave him an opportunity for the develop- 
ment of his talents. He entered the provincial army, 
and gained a victory over the French at Lake George 
in 1755, and this event made his fortune. He was 
made a baronet, and appointed Superintendent of In- 
dian Affairs for the northern provinces. He resided 
at Fort Johnson, near the village of Amsterdam, for 
nearly twenty years, after which he removed to John- 



32 WYOMING. 

son Hall, near Johnstown, where he died in 1774. He 
left one son — Sir John Johnson — and two daughters. 
One of his daughters was married to Colonel Daniel 
Claus, and the other to Colonel Guy Johnson, a dis- 
tant relative. 

After the death of Sir William, Guy Johnson was 
appointed his successor as Superintendent of Indian 
Affairs. There were under his superintendency at 
this time 130,000 Indians, of whom 50,420 were war- 
riors. The Six Nations numbered about 10,000, about 
4600 of whom were trained to the business of war. 

In 1772, the county of Try on — named after the then 
governor of the province of New York — was organ- 
ized, and it embraced the section of the state west of a 
line running north and south through the centre of 
the present county of Schoharie. It contained a pop- 
ulation of about 10,000, and Johnstown was the seat 
of justice. 

The Johnson family exerted a great influence over 
the people in Tryon County, and had acquired almost 
unbounded control of the Indian mind of the Six. Na- 
tions. When the troubles broke out between the moth- 
er country and her colonies, the Johnsons espoused the 
royal cause. Their influence over the Iroquois, or Six 
Nations, was used to attach them to the same cause, 
and they often led them on in their incursions upon 
the settlements in the valley of the Mohawk. Guy 
Johnson left Johnson Hall in 1775, passing through 
the country of the Six Nations, finally making his 
head-quarters at Montreal. Brant and his Mohawks, 
together with the Butlers, followed Colonel Johnson. 
Sir John Johnson was made a prisoner, by order of 
General Schuyler, in January, 1776, and taken to Fish- 
kill, where he was released on parole. In the May fol- 



ITS HISTORY. 33 

lowing he broke his parole, and subsequently com- 
manded a regiment of refugees, known in border war- 
fare as "Johnson's Greens." 

The last of April, 1777, Colonel Gansevoort, with the 
third regiment of the New York line of state troops, 
was ordered to Fort Schuyler* Before the fortifica- 
tion was completed, it was invested by Colonel St. 
Leger. This division of the British forces was collected 
at Oswego, brought their munitions of war and stores 
up Wood Creek, and crossed the portage to the Mo- 
hawk. General Herkimer, with a regiment of militia, 
in attempting to relieve Fort Schuyler, was met by a 
considerable force of Indians and Tories, under the 
command of Brant and Butler, at Oriskany, where he 
was repulsed, and received a wound which occasioned 
his death. The patriots retreated down the river, and 
St. Leger pressed the siege. He raised batteries, and 
made many efforts to reduce the fortress by cannon 
shot, but failed to effect a breach. He then resorted to 
threats of savage barbarity, should the Indians be pro- 
voked by obstinate resistance. In such case, he said, 
it would not be possible for him to restrain them from 
their accustomed modes of redress. All this failed to 
move the brave men in the fort, who were then nearly 
out of provisions. 

Colonel Willett and Lieutenant Stockwell left the 
fort by night, and, eluding the vigilance of the enemy, 

* This fort was situated where the village of Rome now stands. 
The French had built a fort here called Tort Stanwix, which was 
now reconstructed. The name of the new fortification was given it 
in honor of General Schuyler. This fort must be distinguished from 
the old fort by the same name, built, during the French war, on the 
point of high ground now in the northeastern portion of the city of 
Utica, and called by the same name, after an uncle of General 
Schuvler. 

B2 



34 WYOMING. 

passed down the Mohawk for the purpose of reassem- 
bling the militia and returning for the relief of the 
fort. This was a daring undertaking, but was so won- 
derfully successful that the Indians, believing Colonel 
Willett to have been assisted by some superhuman 
power, called him "the devil." The distressing events 
of the encounter at Oriskany had created a great sensa- 
tion in the country, and called for decisive measures. 
General Schuyler dispatched Generals Earned and Ar- 
nold to attack St. Leger and raise the siege of Fort 
Schuyler. 

Colonels Johnson, Claus, and Butler had issued a 
proclamation designed to intimidate the people of Try- 
on County into submission, and to procure enlistments 
into the king's army, and Walter N. Butler, son of 
Colonel John Butler, had been sent on the delicate 
business of circulating this proclamation, and using his 
personal influence with those whom he might find un- 
decided. He visited the German Flats, in the neigh- 
borhood of Fort Dayton, and collected a company of 
Tories at the house of one Shoemaker, who had been 
a civil officer under the king. Colonel Weston, at 
Fort Dayton, learning of the gathering, dispatched a 
detachment of troops, who came upon them by sur- 
prise just as Butler was in the midst of a harangue, 
and made them all prisoners. Butler was tried by a 
court-martial for a spy, and condemned to be hung, but 
at the intercession of several officers, who had formerly 
been his personal friends and associates, he received a 
reprieve, and was sent a prisoner to Albany. After 
several months' confinement he pretended to be sick, 
and, as a mark of favor, he was quartered in the house 
of a Tory, with a single soldier to guard him. But- 
ler and his host managed to make the soldier drunk, 



ITS HISTORY. 35 

and, sick as he was, he escaped on a fleet horse, and 
reached Niagara. 

Among those captured with Butler was a singular 
character by the name of Honyost Schuyler. Almost 
an idiot, he still had streaks of shrewdness which gave 
him no little distinction among the Indians and his 
half - civilized neighbors. His mother and brother 
Nicholas lived at Little Falls. Like Butler, he was 
condemned to death. His mother and brother hasten- 
ed to Fort Dayton to implore General Arnold to spare 
his life. Arnold for a time would not listen to their 
intercession, and the miserable woman became almost 
frantic. At length General Arnold proposed terms 
upon which the life of the poor fellow should be 
spared. He must immediately go to the camp of St. 
Leger, and make such representations to him of the 
forces which were coming up against him as would in- 
duce him to raise the siege. The proposition was glad- 
ly accepted, and the old woman offered to be held a 
hostage for the faithful performance of the commis- 
sion. General Arnold refused to receive the mother 
in that capacity, but took the other son, who was put 
in confinement, while Honyost took his departure. He 
took with him a friendly Oneida Indian, who was fully 
inducted into the secrets of the mission, and greatly 
aided him in its prosecution. Before his departure 
several balls were shot through his clothes, to help him 
make out his story, and the Indian took a different 
route, and fell into the camp at about the same time 
with the principal in the enterprise, 

Honyost arrived at St. Leger's camp, and began im- 
mediately to give an account of his wonderful escape, 
and of Arnold's army. When asked as to the number 
of troops which Arnold had under his command, he 



36 WYOMING. 

shook his head mysteriously, and pointed to the leaves 
of the trees to intimate that the army was large — be- 
yond his power of enumeration. The Oneida had in 
his way met with several others of his tribe, who offer- 
ed him their co-operation. Honyost's story began to 
fly through the camp like wildfire, when lo ! the story 
of the near approach of a great -army was told by In- 
dians who fell in from different directions. A panic 
had really commenced before St. Leger knew it. He 
summoned Honyost before him, who gave a most 
frightful account of his escape. He had been con- 
demned to death, and, on his way to the gallows, he 
had availed himself of the carelessness of the guard, 
and fled. In the mean time, a volley of musketry was 
fired after him. Then, pointing to the holes in his 
coat, he showed the colonel and his officers how one 
ball had just grazed his side, another his shoulder, and 
another his thigh ; but he had been miraculously pre- 
served. As to the Indians, they also gave to St. Leger 
the most exaggerated accounts of the strength and 
numbers of the army of General Arnold. St. Leger 
called a council of war, and, while the officers were 
deliberating upon the course to be taken, the Indian 
forces under Brant commenced preparations to depart. 
St. Leger used every effort to retain them, but to no 
purpose. They had suffered severely in the battle of 
Oriskany, and, as yet, had been wholly disappointed 
in the promised plunder of the Yankee fort, and they 
were in the moody state of mind, when they were vis- 
ited by Honyost and the Oneidas, which was entirely 
favorable to the success of these emissaries of the Yan- 
kee commander. Indeed, the Indians did what they 
could to make the retreat a flight. 

An altercation taking place between Colonel St. 



ITS HISTORY. 37 

Leger and Sir John Johnson, each accusing the other 
of remissness in duty, in the midst of the feud two 
cunning sachems set up a shout, "They are coming! 
they are coming /" when the two colonels closed their 
angry dispute and took to flight. Their men were 
equally quick on foot ; throwing away their guns and 
knapsacks, they ran for their lives. 

Honyost Schuyler ran with the British and Indians 
until an opportunity occurred for him to escape, when 
he returned to Fort Schuyler, and gave Colonel Gan- 
sevoort his first information of General Arnold's ap- 
proach, and of the flight of the besiegers. Gansevoort 
pursued the retreating army, and took prisoners and a 
large amount of spoil. Such was the panic of the 
royal army that they left their tents standing; their 
provisions, artillery, ammunition, and all their camp 
equipage were left to the Yankee forces. The Indians, 
in the mean time, enraged with disappointment, robbed 
the officers, plundered several boats on Wood Creek, 
and actually murdered stragglers belonging to the 
royal army for the sake of plundering their persons. 
A just retribution this for employing those heartless 
savages in a war upon the people of the frontier settle- 
ments. — See Campbell's History of Tryon County, and 
Stone's Border Wars. 

We will here leave the history of the war upon the 
northern border, and return to the events of the period 
in Wyoming. We shall have occasion to refer to the 
narrative which we have here given as we proceed with 
the progress of events upon the Susquehanna, and as 
we give sketches of characters which figured in the 
predatory wars which were waged by the British pro- 
vincial troops and her savage allies, the Six Nations, 
both in Tryon County, New York, and in Wyoming, 
upon the Susquehanna. 



88 WYOMING. 

On the 29th or 30th of June, 1778, Colonel John 
Butler, with about four hundred British provincials, 
partly made up of Tories, together with six or seven 
hundred Indians, entered the head of the valley, and 
took possession of Fort Wintermoot without opposition. 
On that morning eight men and a boy, who had gone 
from Fort Jenkins to their work with their arms, three 
miles above, fell into the hands of the enemy ; five of 
the men were killed, and three taken prisoners, the 
boy escaping by throwing himself into the river, and 
hiding in a clump of willows. 

Colonel Zebulon Butler, who was a Continental offi- 
cer, knowing the perilous condition of the people, and 
desirous to give his personal aid in any way possible, 
had obtained leave to visit the valley, and now, by 
common consent, assumed the command of the little 
army. The whole consisted of "two hundred and 
thirty enrolled men, and seventy old people, boys, civil 
magistrates, and other volunteers," the whole embrac- 
ing six companies, which were mustered at Forty Fort, 
where the families of the settlers on the east side of 
the river had taken refuge. "Indian Butler," as he 
was called, summoned the Connecticut people to sur- 
render Forty Fort and the valley. A council of war 
was called on the 3d of July, and though it was the 
opinion of Colonel Butler, Colonel Denison, and Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Dorrance, and others, that "a little de- 
lay would be best," in hopes of the arrival of re-enforce- 
ments, which it was thought might be on their way, 
yet a large majority were for marching at once upon 
the enemy and giving them battle. Colonel Butler 
mounted his horse, saying, " I tell you we go into grpat 
danger, but I can go as far as any of you," and " the 
column, consisting of about three hundred men, old 



ITS HISTORY. 39 

men, and boys, marched from the fort," at about three 
o'clock in the afternoon, with drums beating and colors 
flying. The devoted little band marched up the plain, 
with the river on the right and a marsh upon the left, 
until they reached Fort Wintermoot, which was on fire 
— fired to make the impression upon the minds of the 
patriots that the enemy was retiring from the valley. 

" Colonel Z. Butler, on approaching the enemy, sent 
forward Captains Ransom and Durkee, Lieutenants 
Ross and Wells, as officers whose skill he most relied 
on, to select the spot, and mark off the ground on 
which to form the order of battle. On coming up, the 
column displayed to the left, and under those officers 
every company took its station, and then advanced in 
line to the proper position, where it halted, the right 
resting on the steep bank noted, the left extending 
across the gravel flat to a morass, thick with timber 
and brush, that separated the bottomdand from the 
mountain. Yellow and pitch-pine trees, with oak 
shrubs, were scattered all over the plain. On the 
American right was Captain Bidlack's company. Next 
was Captain Hewitt's, Daniel Gore being one of his 
lieutenants. On the extreme left was Captain Whit- 
tlesey's. Colonel Butler, supported by Major John 
Garrett, commanded the right wing. Colonel Denison, 
supported by Lieutenant Colonel George Dorrance, 
commanded the left. Such was the ground, and such 
the order of battle. Every thing was judiciously dis- 
posed, and constructed in a strictly military and pru- 
dent manner. Captains Durkee and Ransom, as expe- 
rienced officers, in whom great confidence was placed, 
were stationed, Durkee with Bidlack on the right wing, 
Ransom with Whittlesey on the left. Colonel But- 
ler made a very brief address just before he ordered 



40 WYOMING. 

the column to display. ' Men, yonder is the enemy. 
The fate of the Hardings tells us what we have to ex- 
pect if defeated. We come out to fight, not only for 
liberty, but for life itself, and, what is dearer, to pre- 
serve our homes from conflagration, our women and 
children from the tomahawk. Stand firm the first 
shock, and the Indians will give way. Every man to 
his duty.' 

"The column had marched up the road running 
near the bank on which our right rested. On its dis- 
play, as Denison led off his men, he repeated the ex- 
pression of Colonel Butler, ' Be firm ; every thing de- 
pends on resisting the first shock.' 

"About four in the afternoon the battle began; 
Colonel Z. Butler ordered his men to fire, and at each 
discharge to advance a step. Along the whole line 
the discharges were rapid and steady. It was evident 
that on the more open ground the Yankees were doing 
most execution. As our men advanced, pouring in 
their platoon fires with great vivacity, the British line 
gave way, in spite of all their officers' efforts to prevent 
it. The Indian flanking party on our right kcj:>t up 
from their hiding-places a galling fire. Lieutenant 
Daniel Gore received a ball through the left arm. 
'Captain Durkee,' said he, 'look sharp for the Indians 
in those bushes.' Captain Durkee stepped to the bank 
to look, preparatory to making a charge and dislodging 
them, when he fell. On the British Butler's right, his 
Indian warriors were sharply engaged. They seemed 
to be divided into six bands, for a yell would be raised 
at one end of their line, taken up, and carried through, 
six distinct bodies appearing at each time to repeat the 
cry. As the battle waxed warmer, that fearful yell was 
renewed again and again with more and more spirit. 



ITS HISTORY. 41 

It appeared to be at once their animating shout and 
their signal of communication. As several fell near 
Colonel Dorrance, one of his men gave way : ' Stand 
to your work, sir,' said he, firmly, but coolly, and the 
soldier resumed his place. 

" For half an hour a hot fire had been given and 
sustained, when the vastly superior numbers of the 
enemy began to develop their power. The Indians 
had thrown into the swamp a large force, which now 
completely outflanked our left. It was impossible it 
should be otherwise : that wing was thrown into con- 
fusion. Colonel Denison gave orders that the com- 
pany of "Whittlesey should wheel back, so as to form 
an angle with the main line, and thus present his front, 
instead of flank, to the enemy. The difficulty of per- 
forming evolutions by the bravest militia on the field 
under a hot fire is well known. On the attempt, the 
savages rushed in with horrid yells. Some had mis- 
taken the order to fall back as one to retreat, and that 
word, that fatal word, ran along the line. Utter con- 
fusion now prevailed on the left. Seeing the disorder, 
and his own men beginning to give way, Colonel Z. 
Butler threw himself between the fires of the opposing 
ranks, and rode up and down the line in the most reck- 
less exposure. l Don't leave me, my children, and the 
victory is ours.' But it was too late. 

"Every captain that led a company into action was 
slain, and in every instance fell on or near the fine. 
As was said of Bidlack, so of Hewitt, Whittlesey, and 
the others : ' they died at the head of their men.' They 
fought bravely ; every man and officer did his duty ; 
but they were overpowered by threefold their force. 
In point of numbers the enemy was overwhelmingly 
superior." — Miner's History. 



42 WYOMING. 

It was a dreadful hour. The few old men who 
were left in the fort, and the women and children, 
lined the bank of the river with throbbing hearts, lis- 
tening to the noise of the battle ; and as the firing be- 
came more scattering, and advanced down the plain 
toward the fort, the fearful reality of a defeat was but 
too plainly indicated. " The boys are beat — they are 
retreating — they will be all cut to pieces I" exclaimed 
one who had been pacing the bank, and catching ev- 
ery indication borne upon the breeze from the scene 
of action. 

A portion of the numerous, strange, and fearful 
scenes which followed are upon record, and many of 
them are still in the recollection of a few survivors, for 
which we must refer the reader to the historians. Mr. 
Miner says, "About one hundred and sixty of the 
Connecticut people were killed that day, and one hund- 
red and forty escaped. The loss of the enemy was 
never known; probably from forty to eighty fell." 
According to the best information which we have been 
able to gain, more than two hundred of the patriots 
fell in this fearful conflict, while about sixty of the 
British and Indians were slain. Many were first made 
prisoners, and then massacred in the most cruel and 
barbarous manner by the savages. Colonels Butler 
and Denison, being mounted, first came into Forty 
Fort, and confirmed the apprehensions of the poor de- 
fenseless people, then waiting in a most fearful state 
of anxiety and suspense. They sat down by a table 
in Thomas Bennet's cabin, and adjusted the terms of 
capitulation which were to be proposed to the enemy. 
Colonel Butler then crossed over to Wilkesbarre, and 
the next day, throwing a feather-bed across his horse, 
and seating his wife upon the animal behind him, left 



ITS HISTORY. 43 

the valley. He was a brave officer, and having dis- 
tinguished himself in several gallant enterprises in the 
Kevolutionary struggle, had reasons enough for not 
wishing to be made a prisoner of war. At nightfall 
the fugitives came into the fort, exhausted with the 
toils and terrors of the day. But oh, how many hus- 
bands and sons came not ! The sadness of that night 
will never be adequately sketched. 

The people in the fort at Wilkesbarre, on the east 
side of the river, early on the 4th commenced their 
flight, but in such haste as not to furnish themselves 
with provisions for a long and toilsome journey through 
the wilderness. A large number of women and chil- 
dren, with a few men, took the old war-path toward the 
Delaware, some perishing on the way through fatigue 
and hunger in a dense pine forest, which has ever 
since been called " The Shades of Death." The few 
regular soldiers who had escaped, knowing that they, 
if taken, would be doomed to exemplary punishment, 
made a hasty escape, under the orders of Colonel Butler. 

On the evening of the fatal 3d, Captain John Frank- 
lin arrived at Forty Fort, with a company of militia 
from Huntington and Salem, which gave a little 
strength to the remnant which were left. On the 
morning of the 4th, Colonel John Butler summoned 
Colonel Denison to surrender Forty Fort, inviting him 
to his head-quarters to agree upon the terms. After 
some negotiation, the following articles of capitulation 
were duly executed: 

"Westmoreland, July 4th, 1778. 

"Capitulation Agreement — Made and com- 
pleted between John Butler, in behalf of his majesty 
King George the Third, and Colonel Nathan Denison 
of the United States of America : 



44 WYOMTNtt. 

" Art. I. It is agreed that the settlement lay down 
their arms, and their garrison be demolished. 

"Art. II. That the inhabitants occupy their farms 
peaceably, and the lives of the inhabitants be preserved 
entire and unhurt. 

" Art. III. That the Continental stores are to be 
given up. 

" Art. IV. That Colonel Butler will use his utmost 
influence that the private property of the inhabitants 
shall be preserved entire to them. 

" Art. V. That the prisoners in Forty Fort be de- 
livered up. 

" Art. YI. That the property taken from the peo- 
ple called Tories be made good ; and that they remain 
in peaceable possession of their farms, and unmolested 
in a free trade throughout this settlement. 

" Art. YII. That the inhabitants which Colonel 
Denison capitulates for, together with himself, do not 
take up arms during this contest. 

(Signed), ■ "John Butler, 

"Nathan Denison." 

Accordingly, on the 5th of July, the gates of the 
fort were thrown open, and Butler, at the head of his 

rangers, and a Seneca chief by the name of G n, at 

the head of the Indians, marched in. The arms of the 
men were stacked, and given as a present by Butler to 
the Indians, with these words : " See what a present 
the Yankees have made you." The Indians went 
about sneakingly peeping into the doors of the cabins, 
but for that day molested no one. On the next day, 
however, they began to plunder the people. Colonel 
Denison remained in Mr. Bennet's cabin, a place for- 
merly occupied as a horse-shed. When Butler came 



ITS HISTORY. 45 

into the fort, Colonel Denison sent for him, and re- 
monstrated with him upon the conduct of the Indians, 
alleging that it was a breach of a most solemn en- 
gagement. Butler said, " My men shall not molest the 
people ; I will put a stop to it." But he was no soon- 
er gone than the plundering was resumed. Colonel 
Denison again sent for Butler, and again he came into 
the shed and gave assurances that "the plundering 
should cease." Toward night a company of Indians 
came in, some of them drunk, and commenced ran- 
sacking the houses and rifling them of their movables. 
Colonel Denison had another conversation with But- 
ler, who now said, " To tell you the truth, I can do 
nothing with them." Colonel Denison chided him se- 
verely, but, waving his hand, he repeated the same 
words, and finally left the fort no more to return. 

After the lapse of two weeks from the day of the 
battle, it was rumored that the Tories and Indians had 
again entered the valley, and would probably kill all 
that remained of the inhabitants. The people then all 
left the fort, some going down the river in canoes, and 
others taking the path " through the swamp" to Strouds- 
burg. Thus this beautiful valley was deserted by its 
inhabitants, with the exception of those who lay bleach- 
ing upon the plain, unconscious of what transpired, 
and beyond the reach of further wrongs. 

We have not given the details of the savage cruel- 
ties which are found in other histories. But there are 
two well-authenticated instances of the diabolical spirit 
of the Tories which we shall recite. We do this not 
only to show what kind of men embraced the royal 
cause, but as a fearful illustration of the dreadful havoc 
made by the spirit of war upon all the better feelings 
of humanity, and all the ties of kindred. 



46 



WYOMING. 








MONOCASY ISLAND, FEOM THE EAST BANK OF THE SUSQUEHANNA. 

" A sliort distance below the battle-ground there is 
a large island in the river called ' Monockonock Island.' 
Several of the settlers, while the battle and pursuit con- 
tinued, succeeded in swimming to this island, where 
they concealed themselves among the logs and brush- 
wood upon it. Their arms had been thrown away in 
their flight previous to their entering the river, so that 
they were in a manner defenseless. Two of them, in 
particular, were concealed near and in sight of each 
other. While in this situation, they observed several 
of the enemy, who had pursued and fired at them while 
they were swimming the river, preparing to follow 
them to the island with their guns. On reaching the 
island, they immediately wiped their guns and loaded 
them. One of them, with his loaded gun, soon passed 
close by one of these men who lay concealed from his 
view, and was immediately recognized by him to be 
the brother of his companion who was concealed near 
him, but who, being a Tory, had joined the enemy. 
He passed slowly along, carefully examining every 
covert, and directly perceived his brother in his place 
of concealment. Ho suddenly stopped and said, ' So 



ITS HISTORY. 47 

it is you, is it?' His brother, finding that he was dis- 
covered, immediately came forward a few steps, and 
falling on his knees, begged him to spare his life, prom- 
ising to live with him and serve him, and even to be 
his slave as long as he lived, if he would only spare 
his life. ■ All this is mighty good 1 replied the savage- 
hearted brother of the supplicating man, ' hut you are a 
d****d rebel; 1 and deliberately presenting his rifle, 
shot him dead upon the spot. The other settler made 
his escape from the island, and having related this fact, 
the Tory brother thought it prudent to accompany the 
British troops on their return to Canada." — Chapman 1 s 
History, p. 127, 128. 

" This tale is too horrible for belief; but a survivor 
of the battle, a Mr. Baldwin, whose name will occur 
again, confirmed its truth to the writer with his own 
lips. He knew the brothers well, and in August, 1839, 
declared the statement to be true." — Col. Stone's His- 
tory, p. 215. 

Elijah Shoemaker was seen wading in the river, not 
knowing how to swim, by one Windecker, a Tory, who 
had been treated by Shoemaker with the kindness with 
which a father would treat a son. Windecker said to 
him, "Come out, Shoemaker." "I am afraid," said 
Shoemaker, "you will give me up to the Indians." 
" No," said Windecker, " I will save you ; they sha'n't 
hurt you." But no sooner did Shoemaker come with- 
in his reach, than the perfidious wretch dashed his tom- 
ahawk into his head, and set his body afloat. The 
body was taken up at the fort, and Mrs. Shoemaker, 
with a child in her arms — the late Col. Elijah Shoe- 
maker, of Kingston — came down to the water's edge 
to be agonized with a sight of the mangled corpse of 
her husband. The body was buried in the fort before 



48 WYOMING. 

the capitulation. The circumstances of Shoemaker's 
death were related by Esquire Carpenter and Anning 
Owen, who were concealed under a tree-top which lay 
out in the river. 

These instances of horrid brutality defy all prece- 
dent. The priestess of the hellish orgies of " Bloody 
Rock," had she witnessed the above spectacle, would 
have been ashamed of the demons concerned in the 
transaction. She, in the true spirit of savage warfare, 
was taking sweet vengeance for the loss of a brother 
or an intimate friend. But these furies imbrued their 
hands in the blood of friend and brother ! Alas for 
poor humanity, of what a height of corruption and 
wickedness is it capable ! 

"Indian Butler" soon made his exit from the val- 
ley. The following is a picture of the departure : 

"With Butler a large portion of the Indians with- 
drew, and their march presented a picture at once mel- 
ancholy and ludicrous. Squaws, to a considerable num- 
ber, brought up the rear, a belt of scalps stretched on 
small hoops around the waist for a girdle, having on, 
some four, some six, and even more, dresses of chints 
or silk, one over the other ; being mounted astride on 
horses (of course all stolen), and on their heads three, 
four, or five bonnets, one within another, worn wrong 
side before." — Miner's History, p. 237. 

Mr. Miner presents two charges against Colonel John 
Butler, which will lie against his name to the end of 
time, and in mitigation of which there is not a reliev- 
ing circumstance. The first is "his position — accept- 
ing command, lending his name, and associating with 
those bloodthirsty and unprincipled savages who were 
placed under his orders." His confession, after the 
capitulation, that he could "do nothing with them," 



ITS HISTORY. 49 

brands him with infamy. How came he to lead on a 
band of murderous savages whom he knew he could 
not control, to an assault upon a defenseless settle- 
ment? But "the deepest stain on the character of 
Butler, next to his taking the command of such a horde 
of merciless and ungovernable wretches, arises out of 
the fact that but two prisoners were taken and saved 
at the time of the battle." It is altogether likely that 
the greatest number who fell were cruelly massacred 
upon the retreat ; and it is certain that many of them 
were first made prisoners, and then tortured and butch- 
ered in cold blood. That his own men took part in 
the pursuit and butchery on the day of the battle is 
historically true, and that he tried to prevent the sub- 
sequent massacres there is no evidence. 

COLONEL ZEBULON BUTLER'S REPORT OF THE BATTLE 
TO THE BOARD OF WAR. 
" Gnadenhutten, Penn Township, July 10th, 1778. 

" Honored Sir, — On my arrival at Westmoreland, 
which was only four days after I left Yorktown, I 
found there was a large body of the enemy advancing 
on that settlement. On the 1st of July we mustered 
the militia, and marched toward them by the river 
above the settlement — found and killed two Indians 
at a place where, the day before, they had murdered 
nine men engaged in hoeing corn. We found some 
canoes, etc., but, finding no men above their main 
body, it was judged prudent to return ; and as every 
man had to go to his own house for his provisions, we 
could not muster again till the 3d of July. In the 
mean time the enemy had got possession of two forts, 
one of which we had reason to believe was designed for 
them, though they burned them both. The inhabitants 

C 



50 WYOMING. 

had some forts for the security of their women and 
children, extending about ten miles on the river, and 
too many men would stay in them to take care of them; 
but, after collecting about three hundred of the most 
spirited of them, including Captain Hewitt's company, 
I held a council with the officers, who all agreed that 
it was best to attack the enemy before they got any 
farther. We accordingly marched, found their situa- 
tion, formed a front of the same extension of the ene- 
my's, and attacked from right to left at the same time. 
Our men stood the fire well for three or four shots, 
till some part of the enemy gave way ; but, unfortu- 
nately for us, through some mistake, the word retreat 
was understood from some officer on the left, which 
took so quick that it was not in the power of the offi- 
cers to form them again, though I believe, if they had 
stood three minutes longer, the enemy would have 
been beaten. The utmost pains were taken by the 
officers, who mostly fell. A lieutenant colonel, a ma- 
jor, and five captains, who were in commission in the 
militia, all fell. Colonel Durkee, and Captains Hewitt 
and Eansom, were likewise killed. In the whole, about 
two hundred men lost their lives in the action on our 
side. What number of the enemy were killed is yet 
uncertain, though I believe a very considerable num- 
ber. The loss of these men so intimidated the inhab- 
itants that they gave up the matter of fighting. Great 
numbers ran off, and others would comply with the 
terms that I had refused. The enemy sent flags fre- 
quently ; the terms you will see in the inclosed letter. 
They repeatedly said they had nothing to do with any 
but the inhabitants, and did not want to treat with me. 
Colonel Denison, by desire of the inhabitants, went and 
complied, which made it necessary for me and the little 



ITS HISTORY. 51 

remains of Captain Hewitt's company to leave the place. 
Indeed, it was determined by the enemy to spare the 
inhabitants after the agreement, and that myself and 
the few Continental soldiers should be delivered up to 
the savages; upon which I left the place, and came 
away, scarcely able to move, as I have had no rest 
since I left Yorktown. It has not been in my power 
to find a horse or man to wait on the Board till now. 
I must submit to the Board what must be the next 
step. The little remains of Hewitt's company, which 
are about fifteen, are gone to Shamoken, and Captain 
Spaulding's company, I have heard, are on the Dela- 
ware. Several hundred of the inhabitants are strolling 
in the country destitute of provisions, who have large 
fields of grain and other necessaries of life at "West- 
moreland. In short, if the inhabitants can go back, 
there may yet be secured double the quantity of pro- 
visions to support themselves, otherwise they must be 
beggars, and a burden to the world. 

" I have heard from men that came from the place 
since the people gave up that the Indians have killed 
no persons since, but have burned most of the build- 
ings, and are collecting all the horses they can, and are 
moving up the river. They likewise say the enemy 
were eight hundred, one half white men. I should be 
glad that, if possible, there might be a sufficient guard 
sent for the defense of the place, which will be the 
means of saving thousands from poverty, but must 
submit to the wisdom of Congress. I desire farther 
orders from the honorable Board of War with respect 
to myself and the soldiers under my direction. 

" I have the honor to be your honor's most obedient 
humble servant, Zebulon Butler." 



52 WYOMING. 

THE OTHEtt SIDE. — JOHN BUTLER'S REPORT OF THE 

BATTLE. 

MAJOR JOHN BUTLER TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL BOLTON. 

"Lacuwanack, 8th July, 1778. 

" On the 30th of June I arrived with about 500 
rangers and Indians* at Wyoming, and encamped on 
an eminence which overlooks the greatest part of the 
settlement, from which I sent out parties to discover 
the situation or strength of the enemy, who brought in 
eight prisoners and scalps. Two Loyalists*)* who came 
into my camp informed me that the rebels could mus- 
ter about eight hundred men, who were all assembled 
in their forts.;): July the 1st I marched to the distance 
of half a mile of Wintermoot's Fort, and sent in Lieu- 
tenant Turney with a flag to demand immediate pos- 
session of it, which was soon agreed to.§ A flag was 
then sent to Jenkins's Fort, which surrendered on near- 
ly the same conditions as Wintermoot's, both of which 
are inclosed.) I next summoned Forty Fort, the com- 
mandant of which refused the conditions I sent him. 
July 3d, parties were sent out to collect cattle, who in- 
formed me that the rebels were preparing to attack 
me. This pleased the Indians highly, who observed 

* It has always been believed in Wyoming that the numbers of 
Butler's army were between 700 and 1000. A scout went up to the 
place of debarkation the day before the battle, and from the number 
of their boats they estimated their force at over 1000. 

f Probably the Wintermoots. 

X Here the number is greatly exaggerated ; but, as the colonel 
Avished to magnify his exploit, he reports his own number less than 
it really was, and exaggerates that of the settlers. 

§ " Soon agreed to !" It was arranged beforehand, for those who 
built and occupied it were Tories. 

|| Fort Jenkins was not entered until the day after the battle. — See 
the account of Richard Gardner, p. 355. 



ITS HISTORY. 53 

they should be on an equal footing with them in the 
woods. At two o'clock we observed the rebels upon 
their march, in number about four or five hundred .* 
Between four and five o'clock they were advanced 
within a mile of us. Finding them determined, I or- 
dered the fort to be set on fire, which deceived the en- 
emy into an opinion that we had retreated. We then 
posted ourselves in a fine open wood, and, for our great- 
er safety, lay flat upon the ground, waiting their ap- 
proach. When they were within two hundred yards 
of us, they began firing. We still continued upon the 
ground, without returning their fire, until they had 
fired three volleys. By this time they had advanced 
within one hundred yards of us, and, being quite near 
enough, Gucingerachton ordered his Indians, who were 
upon the right, to begin the attack upon our part, 
which was immediately well seconded by the Eangers 
on the left. Our fire was so close and well directed 
that the affair was soon over, not lasting half an hour 
from the time they gave us their first fire to their flight. 
In this action were taken 227 scalps and only five pris- 
oners.f The Indians were so exasperated with their 
loss last year near Fort Stanwix that it was with the 
greatest difficulty I could save the lives of these few.J 

* Here again is a gross exaggeration. The numbers, all told, did 
not exceed 320. 

t Perhaps one third of the "scalps" "were taken" after the "ac- 
tion" was over, from the heads of prisoners who had surrendered and 
asked quarter. 

% The "loss" of " the Indians" "at Fort Stanwix" was doubtless a 
most provoking affair ; but who was to blame ? Must the people of 
"Wyoming atone for it? The Indians probably flung away a few 
guns and blankets at Fort Stanwix in their sudden flight, for which 
they doubtless fully remunerated themselves by robbing their friends. 
Their "great loss," however, was that of the opportunity of taking 



54 WYOMING. 

Colonel Denniston, who came in next day with a min- 
ister and two others to treat for the remainder of the 
settlement of Westmoreland, assured ns that they had 
lost one colonel, two majors, seven captains, thirteen 
lieutenants, eleven ensigns, two hundred and sixty- 
eight privates. On our side were killed one Indian, 
two Rangers, and eight Indians were wounded.* In 
this incursion we have taken eight palisades, (six) forts, 
and burned about one thousand dwelling-houses, f all 
their mills, etc. We have also killed and drove off 
about one thousand head of horned cattle, and sheep 
and swine in great numbers. But what gives me the 
sincerest satisfaction is that I can with great truth as- 
sure you that in the destruction of this settlement not 
a single person has been hurt of the inhabitants but 
such as were in arms; to these, indeed, the Indians 
gave no quarter.^: 

" I have also the pleasure to inform you that the 
officers and Rangers behaved during this short action 
highly to my satisfaction, and have always supported 

the scalps of the garrison, and plundering it of its provisions, ammu- 
nition, and small arms. 

* This story is strangely false. Three Indians were shot down in 
the pursuit, and probably more. — See the statement of Solomon Ben- 
net, p. 3G3. 

t There were not more than half so many dwelling-houses in the 
settlement to burn. Besides, when this dispatch was written, the 
settlement had not been fired at all, with the exception of here and 
there a cabin. — See Mrs. Myers's and Mrs. Bedford's statements. 

X "The Indians gave no quarter." None indeed. What be- 
came of those who were taken prisoners? What became of the 
wounded? What became of the "five prisoners" which the report 
says were taken ? They were all massacred in cold blood, with the 
exception of two who lived to return. Three out of the "five" 
which the colonel reports as saved were never heard of after- 
ward. 



ITS HISTORY. 55 

themselves through hunger and fatigue with great 
cheerfulness. 

"I have this day sent a party of men to the Dela- 
ware to destroy a small settlement there, and to bring 
off- i;>risoners. In two or three days I shall send out 
other parties for the same purpose, if I can sup- 
ply myself with provisions.* I shall harass the ad- 
jacent country, and prevent them from getting in their 
harvest, f 

" The settlement of Scohary or the Minisinks will 
be my next object, both of which abound in corn and 
cattle, the destruction of which can not fail of greatly 
distressing the rebels.:]: I have not yet been able to 
hear any thing of the expresses I sent to the Generals 
Howe and Clinton ; but as I sent them by ten differ - 

* What ! short of "provisions" only three days after taking from 
the settlers "one thousand head of horned cattle, and sheep, and 
swine in great numbers ?" This is a strangely inconsistent and self- 
contradictory tale. 

t How would he do this, as he was then on his way back to the 
north ? He could only do it by the agency of parties of his Indians 
who were left behind. He, Colonel Butler, then would do more than 
simply to "harass the adjacent country, and prevent them from 
getting in their harvest. " He would shoot down the settlers in the 
field ; kill and scalp their wives and children ; rob, burn, and scalp 
on as large a scale as possible. All this was done by the same agen- 
cy as that by which the people were prevented from " getting in their 
harvest;" and if Colonel John Butler did the one, the same Colonel 
John Butler did the other. 

X In this arrangement the brave Colonel John Butler was "be- 
hind the light-house," for this business was committed to Brant, who 
at that very moment was earnestly engaged in its prosecution. 

We do not much wonder that this famous dispatch has been so 
long shut up in the government archives in London. It is a perfect- 
ly bald caricature of the famous expedition of its author "down the 
Susquehanna to Wyoming. " At the same time, we are happy to be 
able to give it to the public. The "journal" of which the colonel 
speaks must be rich. We only wish we had that. 



56 



WYOMING. 



exit routes, I am in hopes that some of them will be 
able to make their way to them and return. 

" In a few days I do myself the honor of writing to 
you more fully, and send you a journal of my proceed- 
ings since I left Niagara. 

"I am, sir, with respect, your most obedient and 
very humble servant, 

(Signed), "John Butler." 

We have given, in as brief a manner as we deemed 
consistent with a fall understanding of the subject, the 






\ flymi 



>u&> v3k^ 



Mjjp>* 






susoot* 



\ Sarvov^ jjgl 




POSITION OF THE WYOMING FOKT8.* 

main facts of " the Wyoming massacre." It will be 
proper in this place to take some notice of a widely 

* Explanation of the Plan. — The several divisions, Hanover, Wilkes- 
barre, Kingstown, &c., mark the districts into which the town of 
Westmoreland was divided ; in military language, the different beats. 
A marks the site of Fort Durkee ; B, Wyoming or Wilkesbarre Fort ; 
C, Fort Ogden ; I), village of Kingston ; E, Forty Fort. [This, in 
the early histories of the Revolution, is called Kingston Fort.] F, 
the battle-ground ; G, Wintermoot's Fort ; JT, Fort Jenkins ; 7, 
Monocasy Island ; I, the three Pittstown stockades. Tbe dot below 



ITS HISTORY. 57 

different report of the affair, which has gone into his- 
tory and obtained a wide circulation. The account to 
which we refer may be found in Thatcher's Military 
Journal, and Gordon's History of the American Rev- 
olution. We shall simply refer to the points which 
are most glaringly false, and not occupy space for the 
whole story. 

After the battle it is represented that " Fort King- 
ston" was "invested the next day, 4th of July, on the 
land side." Dr. Thatcher asserts that the fort was 
cannonaded the whole day, whereas there was but one 
cannon, a four-pounder, in the valley, and that the 
Yankees had in Wilkesbarre. 

Again it is said, " The enemy, to sadden the droop- 
ing spirits of the weak remaining garrison, sent in for 
their contemplation the bloody scalps of 196 of their 
late friends and comrades." This is a pure fiction. 

"July 5th," Colonel Denison is represented as asking 
" what terms" would be given on a " surrender," when 
" Butler answered, with more than savage phlegm, in 
two short words, ' the hatchet? Denison, having defend- 
ed the fort till most of the garrison were killed or dis- 
abled, was compelled to surrender at discretion. Some 
of the unhappy persons in the fort were carried away 

the G marks the place of Queen Esther's Rock. The village of Troy 
is upon the battle-ground, and that of Wilkesbarre upon the site of 
Wilkesbarre Fort and its ravelins. The distances of the several 
points from the present bridge at Wilkesbarre are as follows : Fort 
Durkee, half a mile below, on the left bank. Fort Ogden, three and 
a half miles above, and the Pittstown stockades, about eight mile?, 
on the same side. Forty Fort, three and a half miles ; the Monu- 
ment, on the battle-ground, five and a half; Queen Esther's Rock, 
six and a half; Wintermoot's Fort and Fort Jenkins, eight miles 
above, on the west or right bank of the river. Kingston is directly 
opposite Wilkesbarre, half a mile westward. 

C2 



58 WYOMING. 

alive ; but the barbarous conquerors, to save the trou- 
ble of murder in detail, shut up the rest promiscuously 
in the houses and barracks, which having set on fire, 
they enjoyed the savage pleasure of beholding the 
whole consumed in one general blaze." 

The story proceeds: "They found about seventy 
Continental soldiers, who had been engaged merely 
for the defense of the frontiers, whom they butchered 
with every circumstance of horrid cruelty. The re- 
mainder of the men, with the women and children, 
were shut up, as before, in the houses, which being set 
on fire, they perished all together in the flames." 

It is scarcely necessary to add here that these are 
not mere exaggerations, but downright falsehoods. 
That they would be extensively believed in this coun- 
try, where the Tories and Indians were with no in- 
justice regarded as a sort of demons incarnate, and 
that subsequent historians, living at a distance from 
the scene of action, should repeat them, is only what 
might be expected. Chief Justice Marshall, in his 
voluminous Life of Washington, first published in 
180-1, copied Gordon's tale, and others have continued 
to follow his example down to this date. Mr. Charles 
Miner wrote to the chief justice in 1806, giving him 
the facts as they really occurred, and informing him 
that the story to which he had given the sanction of 
his name was taken from newspaper accounts, which 
were published without correct information soon after 
the event of the massacre. Twenty-five years after- 
ward, when the chief justice was contemplating anew 
and improved edition of the Life of Washington, he 
politely acknowledged the receipt of Mr. Miner's let- 
ter. Mr. Miner has published two letters from the 
chief justice in his History of Wyoming, p. 256-7. 



ITS HISTORY. 59 

In the letter of June 14, 1831, are the following 
short paragraphs : 

" Mr. Eamsay, I presume, copied his statement from 
Gordon, and I relied upon both, as I know Mr. Gordon 
made personal inquiries into most of the events of the 
war, and that Mr. Kamsay was in Congress, and conse- 
quently had access to all the letters on the subject. 
It is surprising that they should haye so readily given 
themselves up to the newspapers of the day. 

"It was certainly our policy during the war to ex- 
cite the utmost possible irritation against our enemy, 
and it is not surprising that we should not always have 
been very mindful of the verity of our publications ; 
but when we come to the insertion of facts in serious 
history, truth ought never to be disregarded. Mr. 
Gordon and Mr. Eamsay ought to have sought for it." 

All this is very sensible, but it is a curious fact that 
"Mr. Eamsay" never " copied" Gordon's " statements." 
In Eamsay 's " statements," both in his " History of the 
United States" and his " American Ee volution," noth- 
ing is said of the "investment" "the scalps," "the 
hatchet," "the burning," or "the seventy Continental 
soldiers ;" but a simple statement of the facts connect- 
ed with the capitulation of the fort, the flight of the 
inhabitants, and the utter desolation of the country, is 
given, with only slight and immaterial variations from 
the account as narrated by Chapman, Stone, and Mi- 
ner. It is strange that so careful and conscientious a 
historian as Chief Justice Marshall should have com- 
mitted so grave a mistake in a matter of authority. 
He doubtless wrote to Mr. Miner " without book," and 
his memory failed him. Since that time Eamsay has 
been associated with Gordon as authority for the fic- 
tion of " the hatchet" and the " burning of women and r 



60 WYOMING. 

children." Now we hope these authors may part com- 
pany, and Dr. Kamsay may no longer be held respon- 
sible for copying either Dr. Thatcher, Mr. Gordon, or 
"the newspapers of the day," in his account of "the 
Wyoming massacre." Dr. Eamsay is one of the pio- 
neers in the work of American history. He was the 
first American who published a history of the Amer- 
ican Ee volution ; this was in 1789. The materials for 
this work were collected while in Congress from 1782 
to 1786. His History of the United States was pub- 
lished in 1808. The second volume of that work is 
represented by the author as "an improved new edi- 
tion" of his " History of the American Ee volution." 
His account of the Wyoming massacre is only " im- 
proved" by calling " Colonel John Butler" " a Connec- 
ticut Tory." In all other respects the account is the 
same in both works. But to return to the narrative. 

We shall now only be able to touch a few details of 
the history. In the fall Colonel Butler returned with 
Captain Spaulding's company and some of the settlers, 
and buried the remains of those who fell upon the field 
of battle, and labored to secure some of the grain which 
was now ripe. But companies of Indians infested the 
country, who took prisoners, shot men who were labor- 
ing in the fields, and stole horses, and whatever else 
they could carry away. 

Colonel Hartley, of the Pennsylvania line, was order- 
ed to join Colonel Butler. A detachment of one hund- 
red and thirty men marched on the 8th of September 
to the West Branch, and thence to Sheshequin. On 
the 29th a battle ensued, in which several on both 
sides were killed. The Indian settlement was broken 
up, and besides horses and cattle recovered, a consid- 
erable amount of plunder was taken, 



ITS HISTORY. 61 

But the savages followed almost upon the heels of 
Hartley's men, and resumed their work of murder, kid- 
napping, and plunder. 

Immediately after Colonel Hartley's expedition in 
1779, General Washington took measures to carry out 
a plan, which had been under consultation, of sending 
a powerful armament into the country of the Six Na- 
tions, to destroy their towns and chastise them for their 
incursions upon the frontier settlements, and the cru- 
elties and barbarities which they had perpetrated. The 
expedition was committed to the charge of General 
Sullivan, who collected his forces at "Wilkesbarre, and 
thence transported his artillery and baggage up the 
river in boats, and forming a junction with a division 
of the army under the command of General Clinton, 
at Tioga Point, proceeded to the prosecution of the ob- 
jects of the expedition. Colonel John Butler at the 
head of the British and Tories, and Brant in command 
of the Indians, made a stand, a little below Newtown, 
on theJOhemung Kiver, with fifteen hundred or two 
thousand men, but were routed with considerable loss, 
and left the Indian towns, and the fields loaded with 
fruit, to be overrun and desolated by an avenging foe. 
" Not a moment of delay was allowed. Being now 
in the Indian country, hundreds of fields, teeming with 
corn, beans, and other vegetables, were laid waste with 
rigid severity. Every house, hut, and wigwam was 
consumed. Cultivated in rude Indian fashion for cen- 
turies, orchards abounded, and near a town between 
the Seneca and Cayuga Lakes there were fifteen hund- 
red peach-trees, bending under ripe and ripening fruit : 
all were cut down. The besom of destruction swept, 
if with regret and pity, still with firm hand, through 
all their fair fields and fertile plains. Deeply were 



62 WYOMING. 

they made to drink of the bitter chalice they had so 
often forced remorselessly to the lips of the frontier 
settlers within their reach. Some idea of the extent 
of country inhabited by the Indians, the number of 
their towns, and the great quantity of produce to be 
destroyed, may be formed, when it is stated that an 
army of four thousand men were employed, without a 
day's (except indispensable) remission, from the 29th 
of August until the 28th of September, in accomplish- 
ing the work of destruction. The farthest northwest 
extent of General Sullivan's advance was to Genesee 
Castle, at the large flats on the beautiful river of that 
name." — Miner's History, p. 271, 272. 

But, notwithstanding the success of General Sulli- 
van's expedition, it did not result in the security of 
Wyoming from the incursions of the savages. Still, 
parties of Indians continued their visits, and from time 
to time exercised their propensities for plundering, 
kidnapping, and murder. For three years the settle- 
ment was in a constant state of alarm, and- manv 
strange and interesting incidents marked its history. 
The capture and escape of Thomas Bennet and Leb- 
beus Hammond, of Pike, Yancampen, and Kogers ; the 
kidnapping and late discovery of Frances Slocum, 
with a multitude of other events as full of romance as 
any of the scenes found in the writings of Sir Walter 
Scott, are detailed in subsequent chapters. 

" The number of lives actually lost in Wyoming 
during the war it is impossible to estimate with cer- 
tainty ; probably three hundred, being one in ten of 
the inhabitants, or exceeding one third of 'the adult 
male population at the commencement of the war. 
Connecticut, to have suffered in the same proportion, 
would have lost near twenty-three thousand, and the 



ITS HISTORY. 63 

United Colonies three hundred thousand." — Miner's 
History. 

Upon the termination of the war with Great Britain, 
the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania pre- 
sented a petition to Congress, praying for a hearing 
touching the difficulties with Connecticut in relation 
to the title to the lands upon the Susquehanna. To 
this Connecticut promptly responded, and the question 
was submitted to an arbitration agreed upon by the 
parties, and assembled in Trenton, N. J., in December, 
1782. The following was the decision : 

" We are unanimously of opinion that Connecticut 
has no right to the lands in controversy. 

" We are also unanimously of opinion that the ju- 
risdiction and pre-emption of all the territory lying 
within the charter of Pennsylvania, and now claimed 
by the State of Connecticut, do of right belong to the 
State of Pennsylvania." — Ibid., p. 308. 

Of this decision the people of Wyoming did not com- 
plain, fully expecting to be u quieted in their posses- 
sions" under the government of Pennsylvania. They 
supposed their individual claims to the right of pre- 
emption had not been submitted nor adjudicated, and 
with them, as things stood, it was not a matter of much 
importance whether they were to be subject to the ju- 
risdiction of Pennsylvania or Connecticut, provided 
they might remain in the peaceable possession of their 
lands. But from the proceedings which followed, the 
settlers soon found that the object of Pennsylvania was 
their utter expulsion from the homes which had al- 
ready cost them infinite vexation and much precious 
blood. There was an affectation of conditions of 
compromise, but they resolved themselves into these 
points : 



64 WYOMING. 

" 1st. Pledges to be given, such as could not admit 
of denial or evasion, for their obedience. 

"2d. A disclaimer in writing, publicly, plainly, and 
unequivocally given, of all claims to their lands held 
under title from Connecticut. Then follow the mer- 
ciful terms. 

" 3d. The settler to take a lease of half his farm for 
about eleven months, giving up possession at once of 
the other half. On the first of April following to aban- 
don claims, home, possession, to his adversary. 

"4th. The widows of those who had fallen by the 
savages to be indulged in half their possessions a year 
longer. 

" And 5th. The Eev. Mr. Johnson to be allowed to 
occupy his grounds (under disclaimer and lease, of 
course) for two years." — Miner's History, p. 324, 325. 

The settlers remonstrated, and stood firmly to their 
positions. The agents of the government of Pennsyl- 
vania proceeded to constitute townships, and take pos- 
session of the lands. The settlers were not subdued 
by the dangers and troubles through which they had 
passed. Though war had diminished and weakened 
them, they were not prepared tamely to submit to 
downright usurpation and oppression. The soil which 
had drunk the blood of their dear friends — fathers, 
brothers, and sons — was too sacred to be lightly aban- 
doned. Their homes they were determined to hold, 
peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must. See- 
ing themselves likely to fail of maintaining their rights, 
the law being in the hands of those interested, they 
seized their old rusty guns and hurled defiance at their 
oppressors. Colonel Butler, Colonel Jenkins, and Col- 
onel Franklin led on the Connecticut people in the 
maintenance of their rights, always exhausting nego- 



ITS HISTORY. 65 

tiation and diplomacy before they had recourse to forci- 
ble measures. Colonel Armstrong, the author of the 
famous "JSTewburg Letters," was commissioned to visit 
the scene of strife, with an armed force of four hundred 
men, and restore 'peace. Finding the Pennamites and 
Yankees in the field in the attitude of war, he required 
both parties to give up their arms and cease hostilities, 
promising " impartial justice and protection." The 
Yankees feared "treachery," but Colonel Armstrong 
"pledging his faith as a soldier and his honor as a gen- 
tleman" .that the opposite party should also be dis- 
armed, they finally submitted. 

"They paraded, were ordered to 'ground arms;' 
they were then commanded, ' Eight about — march ten 
steps — halt — right about !' which they obeyed ; when 
Colonel Armstrong ordered his men to advance and 
take up the grounded arms. Thus far was according 
to their expectations ; but their surprise was merged in 
bitterest mortification when Colonel Armstrong gave 
rapid orders, as rapidly obeyed, to surround the dis- 
armed settlers, and make them all prisoners: resist- 
ance was vain, and escape hopeless. Not a musket 
was taken from Patterson's forces, but they beheld the 
successful treachery of Colonel Armstrong with unre- 
strained delight and taunting exultation. A soldier's 
faith should be unsullied as the judicial ermine — the 
pledged honor of a gentleman more sacred than life. 
Both were basely violated, and language is too poor to 
paint in proper colors the detestable deed." — Miner. 

The poor fellows were now bound with cords, and 
hurried off, some to Easton, others to Northumberland, 
and thrown into prison. Armstrong returned to Phil- 
adelphia to herald his triumph ; but, to his great mor- 
tification, he almost immediately learned that most of 



66 WYOMING. 

the Yankees were released on bail, and were again in 
the field. Skirmishes now ensued, and lives were lost 
on both sides. 

A sympathy was now quite general in Pennsylva- 
nia for the settlers. Armstrong's perfidy was known 
and execrated, and when he returned to Wyoming, 
having been authorized to raise a force sufficient to re- 
duce the Yankees, he could only bring into the field 
about one hundred men. In an assault upon a party 
who occupied three block-houses at Tuttle's Creek he 
was repulsed, and one of his subalterns, a Captain Bo- 
len, was killed. This was the last blood that was 
spilled in these unfortunate conflicts. September 15, 
1784, the Legislative Assembly of Pennsylvania "or- 
dered the settlers to be restored to their possessions." 

A portion of the settlers had, by means of the op- 
pressive measures of Pennsylvania, become wholly dis- 
affected with her ; and, led on by Colonel Franklin, a 
most active and able political agitator, they made a 
stand against the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, and ac- 
tually commenced incipient measures for the organiza- 
tion of the disputed territory into a new state. The 
settlers were now themselves divided into two factions ; 
one under the influence of Colonel Pickering, who act- 
ed under the authority of Pennsylvania, and the other 
led on by Colonel Franklin, who acted partly for him- 
self and partly for the dear people. The feud was, 
however, finally terminated by the apprehension and 
imprisonment of Franklin, who, after he had lain in 
jail in Philadelphia for several months, so far lost his 
ardor as to ask pardon of the Legislature, and promise 
allegiance to the state, which promise he for many 
years faithfully fulfilled. So terminated all the wars 
of the Valley of Wyoming. 



ITS HISTORY. 67 




COLONEL PICKERING. 



After the termination of the wars, Wyoming became 
a pleasant, nourishing rural district under the jurisdic- 
tion of Pennsylvania, and its inhabitants soon attained 
not only competency, but many of them wealth and 
opulence. 

"Look now abroad : another race has filled 

These populous borders ; wide the wood recedes, 
And towns shoot up, and fertile realms are tilled ; 

The land is full of harvests and green meads ; 
Streams numberless, that many a fountain feeds, 

Shine, disembowered, and give to sun and breeze 
Their virgin matins ; the full region leads 

New colonies forth, that toward the western seas 
Spread like a rapid flame among the autumnal trees." 

Bryant. 

Their commercial operations were carried on by a 
laborious process, but they were remunerative. Colo- 
nel Holenback and others, who commenced life with 
little or nothing, amassed fortunes by trading with the 
settlers and the Indians scattered through the wilder- 
ness between Niagara and Philadelphia. Things 



68 WYOMING. 

moved on in a quiet way, and business was pursued 
by its ancient channels until it was found that Wyo- 
ming and Lackawanna valleys constituted one of the 
richest basins of anthracite coal in the State of Penn- 
sylvania. Eastern capital finally became enlisted, and, 
together with home resources, has originated a vast 
trade, which has changed the whole course of business. 
Agriculture is now a mere circumstance in the busi- 
ness interests of the country. 

Until within a few years Wyoming was as much 
like " The Happy Valley" in Easselas as could well be 
imagined. The only modes of access to the great world 
were either by the river, which was never properly 
navigable, or across the eastern mountains, over an al- 
most impassable road. Thanks to modern improve- 
ments, every thing is now changed. The spell is 
broken. The dark silence of the past has given place 
to the bustle of business, the shriek of the locomotive, 
and the thunder of the cars. Instead of a full week's 
travel between this secluded spot and New York or 
Philadelphia, only a few hours are now occupied by 
the journey. 

From the present point of business, activity, and 
progress, we propose to lead the reader back to the 
primitive simplicity of the first settlers — to take a brief 
view of their struggles and perils — their conflicts with 
the wild beasts, the wild Indians, and with each other. 
The history of no portion of our great country is more 
replete with curious incidents and romantic adven- 
tures than the history of Wyoming. Every foot of 
the soil is rendered classic by some historic fact or 
some curious legend. Bloody conflicts, hair-breadth 
escapes, starvations, heart-breaks, love adventures, 
prodigies of heroism, and miracles of endurance, mark 



ITS HISTORY. 69 

every page of the early history of Wyoming, and are 
associated with every one of her ancient localities. 

Our object shall be to introduce to the reader some 
of the tellers of the wondrous tales of the olden time. 
They shall now speak for themselves. Their own sim- 
ple stories, told, as nearly as may be, in their own lan- 
guage, is the desideratum which we propose to supply, 
and for which our materials are quite ample. 

Novelists and poets have strained their imagination 
to render the scenery and the scenes of Wyoming en- 
chanting to their readers, while facts and incidents have 
been sleeping here, or have been but partially under- 
stood, which are really more wonderful than the fruit- 
ful brains of these writers were able to conceive. The 
truth, told without affectation after the excitements of 
the strange scenes described have long since passed 
away will be found to outstrip fiction in exciting in- 
terest. 

Perhaps the brightest gem to be found among the 
poetical effusions of Thomas Campbell is his "Ger- 
trude of Wyoming." There is much that is truthful 
in his pictures, some few things which are false, but 
nothing overdrawn. One of our own poets, who had 
gazed upon the objects and scenes of the valley for 
himself, makes the following beautiful allusion to 
Campbell's Gertrude in a strain not below the poetic 
beauty of that poem : 

" I then but dreamed : thou art before me now, 
In life, a vision of the brain no more. 
I've stood upon the wooded mountain's brow, 
That beetles high thy lovely valley o'er. 

Nature hath made thee lovelier than the power 

Even of Campbell's pen hath pictured : he 
Had woven, had he gazed one sunny hour 

Upon thy smiling vale, its scenery. 



70 WYOMING. 

With more of truth, and made each rock and tree 
Known like old friends, and greeted from afar : 
And there are tales of sad reality 

In the dark legends of thy border war, 
With woes of deeper tint than his own Gertrude's are." 

IIalleck. 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 



71 



n. 

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 

"But this is not a time" — he started up, 

And smote his breast with wo-denouncing hand — 
" This is no time to fill the joyous cup ; 

The mammoth comes — the foe — the monster Brant, 
With all his howling, desolating band ; 

These eyes have seen their blade and burning pine 
Awake at once, and silence half your land. 

Red is the cup they drink, but not with wine ; 
Awake and watch to-night, or see no morning shine." 

Campbell's Gertrude. 

Joseph Brant was a Mohawk sachem. He lias 
been represented as a half-breed, but Colonel Stone 




makes it appear quite probable that he was a full- 
blooded Indian. He was born in the western woods, 



72 WYOMING. 

somewhere within the bounds of the present State of 
Ohio, while his parents were upon a hunting expedi- 
tion. His Indian name was Thay-en-da-ne-gea. Sir 
William Johnson held a peculiar relation to the Brant 
family. Molly Brant was a beautiful squaw, and, when 
about sixteen, upon a regimental parade — upon a ban- 
ter on her part — had been allowed by an officer to 
spring upon his horse behind him, and, with her blan- 
ket and black tresses streaming in the air, to fly over 
the ground, to the great amusement of the spectators. 
Sir William was present, and was so charmed with the 
creature that he took her to his house. Colonel Stone 
says that she became "his wife," and that her "de- 
scendants from Sir William Johnson compose some of 
the most respectable and intelligent families in Upper 
Canada at this day." Mr. Campbell calls Molly Brant 
Sir William's "mistress," and in the "Documentary 
History of New York" she is called his "housekeep- 
er." In all the records we have consulted she is called 
by her maiden name, "Molly Brant," which would 
seem to be against the idea of her regular and lawful 
marriage to Sir William Johnson.* 

Joseph, a younger brother of Molly Brant, was most 
naturally taken under the patronage of Sir William ; 
and, as the baronet took great interest in the civiliza- 
tion and improvement of the Indians, it is not strange 
that he took measures for the education of his protege. 
The Bev. Mr. Wheelock had established a school at 
Lebanon, Connecticut, for the education of Indian boys. 
Joseph was sent to this school with several other In- 
dian boys, and was, in the English sense, so clever, and 
made such progress as to receive high commendation 

* Mr. Lossing informs us that Sir William married Molly Brant 
just before his death, to legitimatize his children. 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 73 

from his teachers, and to be employed as an interpreter. 
He even assisted in translating St. Mark's Gospel into 
Mohawk. The correspondence between Sir William 
Johnson and Dr. Wheelock in relation to the snbject 
of this brief sketch is preserved in the Documentary 
History of New York, and is well worth perusing. In 
1763, Molly Brant, moved by prejudice against the New 
Englanders, caused a letter to be written to Joseph, in 
Sir William's name, in which he was requested to re- 
turn home. Dr. Wheelock was much displeased at 
this, and wrote a letter of remonstrance to Sir William 
upon the subject, but it was of no use. Sir William's 
"housekeeper" could not be denied, and Joseph, be- 
coming discontented, came back to take a prominent 
position among the Iroquois, and to be a powerful 
ally of the Johnsons and of the crown of Great Britain. 

In 1777 Brant came down from the north with a 
band of his Mohawks, and made his head-quarters at 
Ocquaga and Unadilla, and at the latter ]3lace General 
Herkimer sought and obtained an interview with the 
Mohawk chief, with a view to employing the influence 
of a former acquaintance and an old friendship to bring 
him over to the cause of the colonies. General Her- 
kimer had with him about three hundred men, and, 
after some ceremonies, met Brant at Unadilla. The 
interview was civil, but fruitless. Brant told the gen- 
eral that, for the sake of old friendship, he would not 
harm him. But the chief was not to be satisfied with- 
out displaying his force ; and, upon a signal, five hund- 
red warriors darted from their concealment and gave 
the war-whoop. The " old neighbors" then separated 
to meet only once more, and that upon the battle- 
field. 

The next we hear of Brant is at the battle of Oris- 

D 



74 WYOMING. 

kany, on the 6th of August. The conduct of the In- 
dians and Tories toward the prisoners which fell into 
their hands on this occasion was marked by the most 
unparalleled ferocity. A surgeon of General Herki- 
mer's brigade of militia, by the name of Moses Young- 
love, made an affidavit, which is now in the office of the 
Secretary of State, in which he makes the most terrible 
disclosures. He was made a prisoner, and was 
"brought to Mr. Butler, Sen." — Colonel John Butler — 
"who demanded of him what he was fighting for; to 
which he answered, ' He fought for the liberty that God 
and nature gave him, and to defend himself and dear- 
est connections from the massacre of savages.' To 
which Butler replied, ' You are a d — d impudent reb- 
el;' and, so saying, immediately turned to the savages, 
encouraging them to kill him, and saying, if they did 
not, this deponent and the other prisoners should be 
hanged on a gallows then preparing." " Six or sev- 
en" persons were killed at one time, at the instance of 
a wounded Tory. " Those of the prisoners who were 
delivered up to the provost guards were kept without 
victuals for many days, and had neither clothes, blan- 
kets, shelter, nor fire, while the guards were ordered 
not to use any violence in protecting them from the 
savages, who came every day in large companies, with 
knives, feeling of the prisoners to know who was fat- 
test ; that they dragged one of the prisoners out of 
the guard, with the most lamentable cries, tortured him 
for a long time, and this deponent was informed, by 
both Tories and Indians, that they ate him, as they did 
another on an island in Lake Ontario, by bones found 
there, newly picked, just after they had crossed the 
lake with the prisoners." St. Leger had offered twen- 
ty dollars for every American scalp, which, of course, 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 75 

furnished the Indians with a motive for killing the 
prisoners. Younglove was finally doomed to the fire, 
and was likely to be fed upon by the savages. He 
was fastened to a stake on the bank of the river, and 
while preparations were being made for the burning, 
the bank providentially caved off, and he was carried 
down the angry current, and was taken up far below 
by another party of Indians, who took him to the 
west, where he was obliged to run the gauntlet. Aft- 
er this he was adopted by an Indian, put on the In- 
dian habit, and remained among the Indians until he 
was exchanged. Dr. Younglove lived to old age, and 
died a few years since in the city of Hudson, much re- 
spected. His story is perfectly reliable. — See Camp- 
bell's Border Warfare, p. 114-116. 

Now, when these atrocities were perpetrated, where 
was Joseph Brant? He was at the head of the In- 
dians who were in the battle of Oriskany, and who 
tortured and devoured the prisoners there taken. If 
he was present, these barbarous transactions were per- 
mitted, if not ordered by him ; but if he left the pris- 
oners at the disposal of the fiends whom he had the 
honor to command in the battle, and simply retired 
out of sight, the whole iniquitous and fiendish system 
of torture, and murder, and cannibalism which follow- 
ed was at least by his connivance, and at his responsi- 
bility. Dr. Younglove in after years published a his- 
torical poem, in which, referring to Brant, he repre- 
sents him as 

"By malice urged to every barbarous art, 
Of cruel temper, but of coward heart." 

In 1778 the operations of the royal forces on the 
border were put in charge of Colonel John Butler and 
"Captain Brant." Two projects were set on foot: 



76 WYOMING. 

one was surprising the small garrisons and cutting off 
the settlements in Tryon County, and the other the de- 
struction of the settlement at Wyoming, on the Sus- 
quehanna. The first of these enterprises was to be 
taken in hand by Brant, and the second by Butler. 
Early in the spring Brant collected a considerable 
force at Ocquaga. The settlers at Unadilla and in the 
neighborhood removed to Cherry Valley, and located 
themselves within the fortification which had been 
raised by the order of General La Fayette. Brant, 
with a party of Indians, soon visited Cherry Valley, 
with a view to making prisoners of some of the prin- 
cipal inhabitants. While skulking about in the woods 
he intercepted Lieutenant Wormwood, and shot and 
scalped him with his own hand. Wormwood was a 
gallant young officer, and an only son of a respectable 
resident of Palatine. He had been to Cherry Valley, 
and was on his return home. The agonized father, as 
he bent over the mangled corpse of his beloved son, 
poured out a flood of tears, exclaiming, " Brant ! cruel, 
cruel Brant!" After giving this relation, Mr. Camp- 
bell remarks, " Tears started in many eyes which 
scarcely knew how to weep." Brant and this young 
officer had been personal friends, and he is said to have 
lamented his death, having mistaken him for a Conti- 
nental officer. This was a cold-blooded murder, in 
whatever aspect it is regarded, and it was all that Cap- 
tain Brant achieved on this expedition, with the excep- 
tion of his making a prisoner of Peter Sitz, who was 
in company with Lieutenant Wormwood. 

In the month of June, Brant, with a party, visited 
Springfield, burned the houses of the inhabitants, and 
carried away several prisoners. He left the women 
and children in a house to shift for themselves — an act 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 77 

which has been noted as an evidence of his great hu- 
manity. It must be conceded that Brant did not seem 
to delight in torturing and murdering helpless women 
and children ; whether it was because he had a spark 
of kindness in his bosom, or because he considered 
it mean and cowardly, we shall not attempt to de- 
termine. 

Captain Brant now concentrated his forces at Una- 
dilla, and received constant accessions of Tories, who 
were more savage than the savages themselves. A re- 
ward being offered to any person who would gain sat- 
isfactory knowledge of Brant's proceedings, Captain 
M'Kean volunteered to undertake the enterprise. He 
took with him five brave men, and proceeded down 
one of the branches of the Susquehanna. He came 
upon the track of the chief about twenty miles from 
Cherry Valley, in the town of Laurens. A Quaker 
by the name of Sleeper informed him that Brant had 
been at his house that day, with fifty men, and advised 
him to keep out of his way. M'Kean, having satisfied 
himself of the condition of things in that quarter, re- 
turned, but not until he had left behind him evidence 
of his visit. He wrote a letter to Brant, charging him 
with his predatory and murderous incursions upon the 
unoffending settlers, and challenging him to single com- 
bat, or to meet, in fair fight, an equal number of the 
patriots with his Indians, telling him that if he would 
come to Cherry Valley they would make him a goose — 
referring to his name. This letter he fastened in a 
stick, and placed in an Indian path ; Brant received it, 
and referred to it subsequently. 

Some time in June, Brant, with four hundred In- 
dians, met a party of regular troops and Schoharie mi- 
litia on the upper branch of the Cobelskill. There 



78 WYOMING. 

were only forty-five of our men ; twenty-one escaped, 
twenty-two were killed, and two were taken prison- 
ers. 

In July, a small settlement, situated west of the Ger- 
man Flats, was destroyed by Brant. Some of the peo- 
ple were murdered, and others were made prisoners, 
while their goods were either destroyed or carried 
away. In August, the German Flats was visited by 
the chief, with three hundred Tories and one hundred 
and fifty Indians, who ravaged the whole country, 
burning all the buildings, and plundering every thing 
which was movable. Most of the people had taken 
refuge in Forts Herkimer and Dayton, and, conse- 
quently, no great number of prisoners and scalps were 
taken. 

Schoharie and the surrounding settlements were the 
objects of the constant and persevering onsets of the 
Indians and Tories. Colonel Yrooman had the com- 
mand of the fort at Schoharie, and was contented with 
merely defending it, without protecting the inhabi- 
tants. Colonel Harper was not satisfied with this mode 
of proceeding, and ran the hazard of a journey alone 
on horseback to Albany in quest of aid. He put up 
at a Tory tavern on Fox's Creek, and locked his door. 
Soon a loud rap at his door alarmed him. He arose, 
and, placing his sword and pistols on his bed, demand- 
ed what was wanted. ""We want to see Colonel Har- 
per," was the answer. He opened his door, and four 
Tories presented themselves. " Step an inch over that 
mark, and you are dead men," said Colonel Harper. 
After a little conversation, they left the brave colonel 
to himself. In the morning he mounted his horse and 
went on. An Indian followed him, whom Colonel 
Harper several times frightened out of his purpose by 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 79 

presenting his pistol. Upon representing to the com- 
manding officer at Albany the distressed condition of 
the people at Schoharie, a squadron of horse was im- 
mediately provided, and, by a forced march, lit upon 
the enemy the next morning; " and the first knowl- 
edge that the people had that any relief was expected, 
they heard a tremendous shrieking and yelling ; and, 
looking out, they saw Colonel Harper, with his troop 
of horse, welting up the enemy. The men in the fort 
rushed out and joined in the attack, and the country 
was soon cleared of the enemy." — Campbell. 

Mr. Campbell publishes an " exact transcript" of a 
letter from Brant, which is quite characteristic, and has 
some historical importance. We here give it in full : 

"Tunadilla, July 9, 1778. 

"Sir, — I understand by the Indians that was at 
your house last week, that one Smith lives near with 
you, has little more corn to spare. I should be much 
obliged to you, if you would be so kind as to try to 
get as much corn as Smith can spare ; he has sent me 
five skipples already, of which I am much obliged to 
him, and will see him paid, and would be very glad 
if you could spare one or two of your men to join us, 
especially Elias. I would be glad to see him, and I 
wish you could send me as many guns you have, as I 
know you have no use for them, if you have any ; as 
I mean now to fight the cruel rebels as well as I can : 
whatever you will able to sent'd me you must sent'd 
by the bearer. 

" I am your sincere friend and humble servant, 

"Joseph Brant. 

"To Mr. Carr. 

" P.S. — I heard that Cherry Valley people is very 



80 WYOMING. 

bold, and intended to make nothing of us ; they call 
us wild geese, but I know the contrary. 

" Jos. B." 

Captain "Walter N. Butler owed the Tryon County 
patriots a special spite on account of his imprisonment 
in Albany, an account of which we have given in an- 
other connection ; and, by way of taking vengeance 
upon them, he planned an expedition against Cherry 
Yalley. He procured from his father, Colonel John 
Butler, the command of a portion of his regiment, call- 
ed "Butler's Eangers," together with the liberty of 
employing the Indians who were under the command 
of Brant. Captain Butler took up the line of march 
early in November, and met Brant, with his men, on 
their way to Niagara for winter quarters. At first 
Brant was indignant at being made second to Walter 
Butler, and refused to join the expedition. Matters 
were, however, pacified between the Indian and the 
Tory, and they proceeded. Colonel Alden, who had 
command of the fort at Cherry Yalley, was repeatedly 
admonished of the probability of an attack by the In- 
dians and Tories, but he regarded the event as wholly 
improbable, and took no precautions against it. On 
the eleventh, the enemy stole upon the town early in 
the morning, in a snow-storm, and took the place 
by surprise. The officers were quartered in private 
houses, and the wily foe, having learned their locali- 
ties by a prisoner, sent forward separate parties to sur- 
round the houses and take them. Lieutenant Colonel 
Stacy was made a prisoner ; and Colonel Alden made 
his escape from the house, and was pursued, tomahawk- 
ed, and scalped. He was one of the first victims of his 
criminal skepticism and consequent neglect of duty. 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 81 

The enemy now rushed upon the citizens, and com- 
menced an indiscriminate murder of men, women, and 
children. Female helplessness, infantile innocence, or 
entire neutrality in the struggle was no defense against 
the savage Indians and the still more savage Tories. 
The "Wells family, who had been entirely neutral, male 
and female, old and young, with the exception of a 
boy who was not at home, were all destroyed. A 
Tory boasted that he shot Mr. Wells when he was at 
prayer. Rev. Mr. Dunlop, an old gentleman, was made 
a prisoner, and robbed of his wig and a portion of his 
clothing, and was hurried off, shivering with the cold. 
A few were reserved for the purpose of exchange; 
among these were the wife of Colonel Campbell and 
his four children. The town was fired, and was soon 
reduced to a heap of smouldering ruins. 

The historians record some generous acts on the 
part of Brant on this occasion. He interfered in be- 
half of some women and children, and prevented their 
massacre. " On the day of the massacre he inquired 
of some of the prisoners where his friend Captain 
M'Kean was. They informed him that he had prob- 
ably gone to the Mohawk River with his family. ' He 
sent me a challenge once,' said Brant ; ' I have now 
come to accept it. He is a fine soldier thus to retreat.' 
They answered, ' Captain M'Kean would not turn his 
back upon an enemy when there was any probability 
of success.' ' I know it ; he is a brave man, and I 
would have* given more to have taken him than any 
other man in Cherry Valley, but I would not have 
hurt a hair of his head.' " — Campbell. It has been 
supposed that the humanity of Brant on this occasion 
was a mere ruse, to show off by contrast the savage 
barbarity of Butler, against whom he harbored a preju- 

D2 



82 WYOMING. 

dice, and this seems to lis by no means an uncharita- 
ble conclusion. 

The diabolical malice of "Walter N. Butler had no 
bounds. He was so thoroughly determined to make 
a clean riddance of all the "rebels," that numbers of 
neutrals and some of the friends of the royal cause 
were cut to pieces, lest some of the u rebels," under 
the false pretense of neutrality or friendship, should 
escape. He acted upon the maxim that it was better 
to destroy friends than to let enemies escape. — See 
Campbell, p. 144. 

The garrison held out, and a re-enforcement of two 
hundred militia, on the day following, drove the scat- 
tering parties of Indians and Tories from the neigh- 
borhood. They kept their position until the next sum- 
mer, when they joined General Clinton in his march 
into the Indian country with General Sullivan. 

Cherry Valley was a scene of desolation, and exhib- 
ited every where the saddest mementoes of heartless 
cruelty. Mr. Campbell says : " The mangled remains 
of those who had been killed were brought in, and re- 
ceived as decent an interment as circumstances would 
permit. The most wanton acts of cruelty had been 
committed, but the detail is too horrible, and I will not 
pursue it further. The whole settlement exhibited an 
aspect of entire and complete desolation. The cocks 
crew from the tops of the forest trees, and the dogs 
howled through the fields and woods. The inhab- 
itants who escaped, with the prisoners wh(*were set at 
liberty, abandoned the settlement." 

Some of those scenes we often heard described in our 
childhood by those who witnessed them. We were 
raised in old Tryon County, in Middlefleld, equidistant 
from Cherry Valley and Cooperstown. The settlement 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 83 

in Middlefield, then called "Newtown Martin," was de- 
stroyed, and the people scattered. Some of them lived 
to retnrn and spend the remainder of their lives on the 
soil which had been stained with the blood of their rel- 
atives and neighbors. Old Mrs. "Writer — who used to 
be called "Aunt Recter" — once related to our excel- 
lent mother, while we sat by her side, the story of her 
captivity and sufferings. She was stripped of all her 
clothing except her chemise and under-skirt. There 
was a most beautiful girl of her acquaintance who was 
the admiration of all. As Mrs. Writer — then Miss 
Cook — was hurried along by her captors, she saw a 
stout Indian cut the throat of the beautiful girl refer- 
red to a few steps before her. As she passed she saw 
her in her death-struggle. Her nose, her ears, her eye- 
lids, and her breasts were cut off, and her rosy cheeks 
were deeply gashed. All this barbarous mangling of 
the poor girl was inflicted while she was alive, as a 
matter of sport and derision. Could fiends have de- 
vised deeds of such abominable atrocity ? 

When the company encamped a large belt of scalps 
was brought to her, and she was ordered to dress them, 
being instructed by the squaws. The process consist- 
ed in stretching them — spatting them between her 
hands, and then laying them out to dry. Every scalp, 
as she took it up, reminded her of some friend or ac- 
quaintance. She finally took up one which she thought 
was her mother's. It was the scalp of a female, and 
she almost knew to a certainty that it was covered 
with the very hair which she had so often combed and 
dressed. She wept ; but the lifted tomahawk, and ma- 
nipulations which indicated that her own scalp would 
soon come off, dried up her tears. Her mother, how- 
ever, had not been killed. She lived to a great age, 



8-i WYOMING. 

and died near the head of Otsego Lake. She was call- 
ed "Aunt Molly M'Allum," and Mrs. Writer was half 
sister to Daniel M'Allum, the captive boy of whom we 
have elsewhere spoken. 

Colonel Campbell, whose wife and children were 
made prisoners by Butler and Brant, in our childhood 
we often saw on horseback, on his way to and from 
Cooperstown, or upon a visit to his sons, two of whom, 
William and Samuel, lived in Middlefield; and one 
thing we remember, especially, attracted our attention : 
when we doffed our hat and made our best bow to 
the colonel as he passed, he always made a graceful 
bow in return. His son, Dr. William Campbell, was 
a most estimable man and a polished gentleman. He 
was the uncle of Honorable William W. Campbell, the 
historian of Tryon County. This brief paragraph of 
personal matters we hope will be excused> as it may 
not be considered wholly out of place. 

In 1779 we find Colonel Butler and Brant opposing 
General Sullivan, and decently whipped on the Che- 
mung. The Tory and the Indian chief fled to Niagara 
to get out of harm's way for that time, and to prepare 
for another marauding expedition when occasion might 
offer. The massacres of Wyoming and Cherry Valley 
were amply avenged. The Indians who were collect- 
ed about Niagara in the winter of 1779-80, having lost 
all their crops in the lake country, and having none 
but salt provisions, a thing to which they were not ac- 
customed, died of scurvy in great numbers. 

In August, 1781, Major Koss and Walter Butler 
came down from Canada into the Mohawk Valley 
with six hundred and seven Tories and Indians. Colo- 
nels Willett and Harper met them near Johnstown with 
about five hundred militia, and put them to rout. The 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 85 

retreating Indian and Tory army fled to the northwest. 
Ross, with a portion of his men, escaped, but Butler 
was not so fortunate. He was pursued by a company 
of Oneida Indians, and on coming to West Canada 
Creek, about fifteen miles from the village of Herki- 
mer, he swam his horse, and, upon reaching the shore, 
he turned his back upon his pursuers, who had just 
come up to the creek, and defiantly and insultingly 
slapped his hip, when one of the party took deliberate 
aim, and brought the vaunting Tory to the ground. 
The Indian dropped his rifle and blanket and swam 
the creek, and on coming up to Butler he found him 
wounded. He now craved the mercy which he had 
so often denied to helpless women and children — he 
most piteously begged for his life ; but the Indian war- 
rior sprang upon him like a tiger, and with his lifted 
tomahawk, shouted out, " Sherry Valley — remember 
Sherry Yalley !" and he buried his tomahawk in his 
brains, and tore his scalp from his head while his death- 
struggle was upon him. The miserable man might 
well have died with the words of Adonibezeck in his 
mouth, " As I have done, so hath God requited me." 
He had no burial, but his body was left to rot above 
ground, or to be devoured by wild beasts. The place 
where he crossed the creek is called "Butler's Ford" 
to this day. This was the last incursion made into 
Tryon County, and it had a very appropriate winding 
up in the death, by the hand of an Indianfof one of 
the most cruel of the class of white men who stimu- 
lated the Indians to the diabolical cruelties perpetra- 
ted on the frontier. 

Colonel Stone, in his " Border Wars," has preserved 
a letter from Walter Butler vindicating himself, and 
his father, and the Indians too — why did he not in- 



86 WYOMING. 

elude the Tories ? — from the charge of ' ' cruelties." The 
letter is directed to General Clinton, and is dated "Ni- 
agara, February 18, 1779." In this letter Captain But- 
ler says, "We deny any cruelties to have been com- 
mitted at Wyoming, either by whites or Indians." He 
rests his vindication upon the fact that " not a man, 
woman, or child was hurt after the capitulation, or a 
woman or child before it, and none taken into captiv- 
ity." Now what does all this prove, more than that 
the "cruelties" attending the Wyoming massacre might 
have been greater than tJiey were? How many men were 
cruelly tortured the day before " the capitulation?" 
The apology seems to proceed upon the ground that 
the cold-blooded torture of " men in enrms" is not cruel, 
especially if it took place before " the capitulation." 
What was the reason that none were tortured "after 
the capitulation?" Simply because there were none 
left, or next to none, to torture. Captain Butler avoids 
the points of complaint. These are, 1. That the pris- 
oners taken upon the battle-field were tortured by the 
Indians, or barbarously murdered, in cold blood, by 
the Tories. 2. That the defenseless people in the fort, 
women and children not excepted, were plundered of 
their food and clothing, and left to perish with hunger 
and exposure. And, finally, that the articles of capitu- 
lation were wholly and cruelly disregarded before Colo- 
nel Butler had left the ground. 

Next, Captain Butler proceeds to vindicate himself 
and the Indians from the charge of "cruelties" at 
" Cherry Valley ;" and his principal justification is — 
for here he does not deny the facts — that " Colonel 
Denison and his people appeared again in arms, with 
Colonel Hartley, after a solemn capitulation and en- 
gagement not to bear arms during the war." Here 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 87 

the vindication wholly ignores the fact that the capit- 
ulation was made a nullity by Colonel Butler, and, of 
course, was not obligatory on the other party. 

We shall not farther tax the reader's time and pa- 
tience with refutations of the sophisms of this famous 
letter. Colonel Stone, in the largeness of his charity, 
calls it a " straightforward, manly letter." We regard 
it as a "straightforward" evasion, with nothing "man- 
ly" about it. The bad temper and barefaced falsehoods 
of the letter constitute another illustration, in addition 
to the many which the histories record, of the coward- 
ly cruelty and meanness of Walter K. Butler, one of 
the Tory leaders in the border wars. Brant, although 
bad enough — ay, quite too bad for endurance — was 
almost a saint when compared with the younger But- 
ler. Thanks to his imprisonment in Albany that the 
Wyoming massacre was not aggravated by manifold 
more horrors than it has been our painful task to record. 

WAS BRANT AT THE WYOMING MASSACRE? 

The question of Brant's presence at the battle of 
Wyoming has been much discussed and differently de- 
cided. An impression that Brant was at the head of 
the Indians on that occasion has long been strong and 
quite general among the people of Wyoming — the im- 
pression originating from the old settlers and actors in 
that fatal and ill-advised encounter. Mr. Chapman, 
the first historian of Wyoming, in accordance with the 
popular tradition, asserts Brant's presence and lead on 
the occasion. Mr. Campbell, the historian of Tryon 
County, tal»s the same view of the question ; while 
Thomas Campbell, the poet, with our own poets, Hal- 
leck and Whittier, poetize in the same direction. The 
able biographer of Brant — Colonel Stone — takes the 



88 WYOMING. 

other side of the question ; while Mr. Miner presents 
reasons pro and con, and leaves his readers to judge of 
their force for themselves. 

Colonel Stone rests the cause upon the denial of 
Brant, and the credibility of Indian and Tory witnesses. 
It seems rather strange that the ingenious author did 
not address himself to the task of proving an alibi, a 
thing which it may be supposed was very possible at 
the time he collected his materials. John Franklin 
once said in relation to Colonel Stone's witnesses, 
"You won't make such witnesses believed in old Wy- 
oming : people there would take their lives, but never 
the ivords of Indians and Tories." The argument of 
the too partial biographer of Brant was also questioned 
by others besides the people of " old Wyoming." A 
review of " The Life of Brant" in the Democratic Re- 
view, supposed to have been written by the Hon. Caleb 
Cushing, controverts the author's positions, and shows 
their inconclusiveness. In 1846, in an article in the 
Methodist Quarterly, we took the same ground. 

It is reasonable to ask where Brant was on the 3d 
of July, 1778, if he was not, as usual, at Colonel John 
Butler's elbow. He was with him the previous year 
at the battle of Oriskany, and the year following on 
the Chemung, when General Sullivan marched into 
the lake country. They were often united in border 
warfare, Butler commanding the Tories, and Brant the 
Indians. These questions are entitled to fair consid- 
eration and a satisfactory answer, and we shall now 
look at them with candor. 

After much examination of the subject, we have 
reached the conclusion that during the entire summer 
of 1778 Brant was in the Valley of the Mohawk and 
on the head waters of the Susquehanna — at his head- 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 89 

quarters at Ocquaga or Unadilla, and, consequently, 
that lie was not in the Valley of Wyoming at the time 
of the battle. In June the historians tell us that Brant 
and his Indians burned the settlement at Springfield, 
near the head of Otsego Lake. 

Taking another step in advance, we certainly find 
Brant at Unadilla on the 9th of July, from an authen- 
tic letter of his published by Mr. Campbell, which we 
have copied above. This letter relates to supplies for 
his men, and acknowledges the receipt of corn from a 
Mr. Smith. We will now connect this fact with an- 
other. C. L. "Ward, Esq., in an address delivered at 
the Pioneer Festival held in Owego on the 22d of 
February, 1855, asserted that the younger Brant had 
shown him " a receipt, in the handwriting of his fa- 
ther, for money paid for corn and other provisions, 
dated on the 5th day of July, 1778, two days after the 
battle, and while the British forces were in Wyoming." 
This receipt harmonizes exactly with the letter to Pur- 
sifer Carr, dated the 9th, which refers to transactions 
of the same class. It may farther be observed that 
Unadilla is the only locality where Brant would be 
likely to purchase supplies for his men at the date 
of the receipt. There he had his head-quarters, and 
when he visited other places he plundered provisions 
in abundance, and was under no necessity of purchas- 
ing of Tories. The chief could not have come from 
Wyoming after the battle on the 3d in time to be in 
negotiation for supplies in Unadilla on the 5th. The 
facts above established quite conclusively prove the 
alibi. 

We next refer to a dispatch from Colonel Guy 
Johnson to Lord George Germaine, dated New York, 
10th September, 1778. The following is the por- 



90 WYOMING. 

tion of the dispatch which relates to the question in 
hand: 

" Your lordship will have heard before this can 
reach you of the successful incursions of the Indians 
and Loyalists from the northward. In conformity to 
the instructions I conveyed to my officers, they assem- 
bled their force early in May, and one division, under 
one of my deputies (Mr. Butler), proceeded down the 
Susquehanna, destroying the forts and settlements at 
Wyoming, augmenting their number with many Loy- 
alists, and alarming all the country, while another di- 
vision, under Mr. Brant, the Indian chief, cut off 29-i 
men near Schoharie, and destroyed the adjacent set- 
tlements, with several magazines from whence the reb- 
els had derived great resources, thereby affording en- 
couragement and opportunity to many friends of gov- 
ernment to join them." — Documents relating to the Colo- 
nial History of the State of New York, vol. viii., p. 752. 

This dispatch shows clearly that Brant led the In- 
dians in the incursions upon the settlements in the Mo- 
hawk Valley and on the head waters of the Susque- 
hanna, while Butler made his raid upon Wyoming. 
Brant must consequently be identified with the hostile 
movements of the Indians and Tories which we have 
sketched above. There was, indeed, so far as we have 
yet been able to ascertain, no one engagement in which 
that "chief cut off 294 men" during the space of time 
embraced in Colonel Johnson's dispatch. The colo- 
nel must embrace all the persons killed in the small 
actions which occurred in the Mohawk Yalley, and all 
the murders of the savages committed through the va- 
rious settlements during the months of June, July, and 
August. The colonel's dispatch was probably based 
upon a report from Brant of the number of scalps 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 91 

taken during the summer : if this is not the explana- 
tion of the matter, we are at present unable to give 
any that would be likely to be satisfactory. 

This document clearly proves that Brant was in the 
Valley of the Mohawk while Butler was in the Valley 
of Wyoming. 

Another fact we have to adduce is that of a certifi- 
cate of protection, given to one of the settlers, dated 
"Westmoreland, July 5th, 1778," and signed by "John 
Butler" and " Kayenguaurton." Colonel Butler varies 
the orthography of this name, probably from mere care- 
lessness, and we have followed him. Colonel Stone 
and Mr. Lossing give us the name of this chief thus — 
" Gi-en-gwa-toh, which signifies, He tvho goes in the 
smoke." Butler styles himself " Superintendent of the 
Six Nations, " and his associate is called " the Chief of 
the Seneca Nation." The name of the chief is evident- 
ly written by Colonel Butler, but the outlines of a tur- 
tle — jTy — at the left of the name, signifying that the 

chief belonged to the turtle tribe of the Seneca nation, 
was probably executed by the chief himself. 

This document has every internal evidence of au- 
thenticity. We have examined it with great care, and 
have no doubt of its having been written by Colonel 
Butler at the date which it bears, and signed, so far as 
he was able to sign it, by the chief who led on the In- 
dians in the battle. It is in the hands of a literaiy 
friend, who kindly allowed us to examine it. No one 
will doubt that if Joseph Brant had been the leader of 
the Indians on the occasion of the battle, his name 
would have been attached to the document in his own 
handwriting. 

Finally, we adduce the report of Colonel John But- 



92 WYOMING. 

ler to Colonel Bolton, never before published, as in it- 
self absolutely conclusive. In this report he says the 
Indians were led on by a Seneca chief by the name of 
Giicingeracton. 

For these reasons, each of which alone is sufficient 
to satisfy any unprejudiced mind, we hope it will be 
considered as settled that Brant had no part in the 
Wyoming massacre. 

The historians generally, both English and Amer- 
ican, set down "the famous Mohawk chief Brant" as 
the ferocious leader of the Indians at the Wyoming 
massacre, and, so far as appears, Brant took no pains 
to correct the general impression. Thomas Campbell, 
the poet, in his Gertrude, in the lines at the head of 
this sketch, assumes the truth of the tale, and calls the 
chief " the monster Brant." After the war had closed, 
Brant settled in Canada, and died there. In 1822, his 
son, "John Brant, Esq., of Grand Eiver," visited En- 
gland, and made it a point to convince the poet that 
his father was not at Wyoming at all, and that, instead 
of being a "monster," he was a humane, brave, and a 
magnanimous foe. The first point he doubtless estab- 
lished, and the second the poet conceded, albeit, after 
yielding to the proof, he proceeds to refute it. Mr. 
Campbell, the historian, publishes the letter of Mr. 
Campbell, the poet, to John Brant, Esq., in his Appen- 
dix. We would copy this letter if it were not that its 
length and the irrelevancy of the greater portion of it 
make it inexpedient. The letter is dated "London, 
January, 1822." It acknowledges the receipt of cer- 
tain "documents" forwarded by Mr. John Brant, and 
proceeds in an apologetic strain, of which the follow- 
ing brief paragraph may be considered as an expres- 
sion of the spirit, and as an exponent of the sense : 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 93 

11 In short, I imbibed my conception of your father 
from accounts of him that were published when I was 
scarcely out of my cradle. And if there were any 
public, direct, and specific challenge to those accounts 
in England ten years ago, I am yet to learn where 
they existed." 

Now we yield the point of Brant's immediate con- 
nection with the Wyoming massacre, but we are sorry 
not to be able as fully to yield to the claim made for 
him in certain quarters to more than common human- 
ity and magnanimity. Little more evidence is needed 
to put those claims into doubt than the facts presented 
in Colonel Stone's apologetic life of the great Mohawk 
chief. The "cruelties" perpetrated in the Mohawk 
Valley during the years 1777 and 1778, where Brant 
was continually present, and where he was the presid- 
ing genius, are, if possible, more revolting than those 
perpetrated at Wyoming. In Wyoming the women 
and children were not murdered after the capitulation 
of the fort, but in Cherry Yalley no sex or age was 
spared. We are aware that it is said that Walter But- 
ler had command on that occasion. Yes, and Walter 
Butler says that " the Indians 11 perpetrated the u cruel- 
ties" at Cherry Yalley, for the reason that, " being 
charged by their enemies with what they never had 
done, and threatened by them, they had determined to 
convince you that it was not fear which had prevent- 
ed them." Now, as each party accuses the other, and 
no one doubts but both had a part in those " cruelties," 
it is but historical justice to divide the responsibili- 
ties between them. In fact, the steps of Brant, wher- 
ever he went, were red with the blood, not only of 
men, but of "women and children" He sometimes 
did spare them, but at other times he did not; and, 



94 WYOMING. 

indeed, the former was the exception, and the latter the 
rule. 

What, then, is gained by the friends of the chief 
when they have rjroved that he was not at the Wy- 
oming massacre ? Absolutely nothing ; for his Mo- 
hawks and Tories were engaged in the same, and even 
greater M cruelties," in the valley of the Mohawk, and 
upon the head waters of the Susquehanna and the Del- 
aware at the same time, and during the remainder of 
the war. 

It will not be unfair now to direct the attention of 
the reader to a few instances of Brant's " cruelties." 

The first instance we would refer to is the murder 
of his former friend, Lieutenant Wormwood, an ac- 
count of which we have given. 

Another instance is related by Mr. Campbell, as fol- 
lows : " He often said that, during the war, he had 
killed but one man in cool blood, and that act he ever 
after regretted. He said he had taken a man prisoner, 
and was examining him ; the prisoner hesitated, and, 
as he thought, equivocated. Enraged at what he con- 
sidered obstinacy, he struck him down. It turned out 
that the man's apparent obstinacy arose from a natural 
hesitancy of speech." This case is distinctly described 
and specially marked. 

Still another instance is clearly distinguished from 
the foregoing. It is related by Mr. Weld, a European 
traveler. In a skirmish with a body of American troops 
Brant was wounded in the heel, but the Americans, in 
the end, were defeated, and an officer taken prisoner. 
The officer, after having delivered up his sword, en- 
tered into conversation with Sir John Johnson, when 
Brant stole slyly behind them and laid the officer low 
with a blow of his hatchet. Sir John was indignant, 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 95 

and he resented the treachery in the warmest terms. 
Brant listened to him without concern, and, when he 
had concluded, told him that he was sorry for his dis- 
pleasure, but that his heel was exceedingly painful at 
the moment, but, since he had avenged himself upon 
the only chief of the party which they had taken, it 
was much less painful than it had been before. — See 
Border Warfare, p. 249, 250. 

Mr. Campbell had heard another version of this story, 
in which " it was stated that an officer was killed to 
prevent his being retaken by the Americans, who were 
in pursuit of the Indians." This story which the his- 
torian had heard may have been another instance still 
of Brant's cruelty, for it differs from either of the pre- 
ceding relations. Indeed, the three descriptions above 
given can not be different versions of the same fact. 
The reasons for the murder are unlike each other, and 
are wholly incompatible, and the circumstances are 
equally various and inconsistent with the idea of their 
having occurred in the self-same case. It is in vain 

to try to 

"Wash the Ethiop white." 

One cold-blooded, unprovoked murder is enough to 
characterize a moral "monster" — many acts of the 
same class certainly do not relieve the case. We may 
judge the conduct of the chief too severely. Of this 
the reader will make up his mind in view of all the 
facts. All we aim at is historical justice ; and this, at 
all hazards, we shall labor to secure. 

Colonel John Butler, when the Eevolutionary strug- 
gle came on, was a government functionary under Sir 
"William Johnson, and after Sir William's death he be- 
came warmly attached to Sir John and Colonel Guy 
Johnson, When he fled with the Johnsons to Cana- 



96 WYOMING. 

da, his family fell into the hands of the patriots, and 
were exchanged for the wife and children of Colonel 
Campbell, of Cherry Valley. He was exceedingly ac- 
tive in the border conflicts. He commanded a regi- 
ment of Rangers in conjunction with Brant and his Mo- 
hawks, and was a fearful scourge to the patriots of 
Tryon County. He marched at the head of his Rang- 
ers, and a motley mass of Tories and Indians, upon 
Wyoming in 1778, and was there implicated in the 
most savage barbarities. His report of the transactions 
of that expedition, which we have given to the reader 
in another place, is a disgrace to civilization and hu- 
manity. He accompanied Sir John Johnson in his 
murderous onslaught upon the Mohawk and Schoharie 
settlements in 1780. His old residence is situated in 




THE liUTLER UOUSE. 



the Mohawk Valley, near Fonda. His property was 
confiscated by an act of the New York Legislature, 
but was amply reimbursed by the British government. 
He succeeded Guy Johnson as Indian Agent, with a 
salary of $2000 per annum, and was granted a pension, 
as a military officer, of $1000 in addition. He lost 
caste with the high-minded British officers on account 



BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 97 

of his savage cruelties in the border war, and particu- 
larly in Wyoming. It is said that on that account Sir 
Frederick Haldemand, then Governor of Canada, re- 
fused to see him. — See Lossing's Field-Booh. 

It is claimed that Colonel Butler was not so infa- 
mously cruel as his son Walter, and that he might 
have dictated more severe terms to Colonel Denison 
and the settlers in Forty Fort after the battle. All 
this we admit, and yet it is not saying much in favor 
of the great Tory leader. There may be many shades 
between the brutal and diabolical cruelties of Walter 
Butler and the modified savageism of Brant which are 
still at a vast distance from the laws of civilized war- 
fare, and which are entitled to little respect from the 
historian. No man knew better the character of the 
warfare carried on by Tories and Indians than Colo- 
nel John Butler. He set on these bloodhounds, and, 
in some instances at least, encouraged them to do their 
worst. Prisoners of war and the wounded, while beg- 
ging for quarter, were cruelly tortured, after the bat- 
tles of Oriskany and Wyoming, under his immediate 
command. What great relief to the character of the 
Tory is it to say that he did not order the old men, 
women, and children in Forty Fort to be butchered ? 
He might almost as well have done it, for he allowed 
them to be plundered of their food and clothing, and 
driven to the mountains to starve and be devoured 
by wild beasts. Sure enough, " The tender mercies 
of the wicked are cruel." 

After the war Colonel Butler settled in Canada, and 
lived till about the year 1800, when he went to his ac- 
counts. He applied to the British government to be 
knighted, but failed, as we judge from the fact that we 
have never seen him dignified with the title of Sir. 

E 



98 WYOMING. 

He is not, even by historians but too tender of his rep- 
utation, called Sir John Butler, but simply Colonel 
Butler. An interesting anecdote touching his efforts 
to secure the honors of knighthood we shall insert in 
another connection. 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 99 



HI. 

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 

The materials for the following sketch of one of the 
leading characters concerned in the stirring events of 
the history of Wyoming are derived partly from our 
own personal knowledge of the man, but principally 
from members of his family who are now living. To 
Mrs. H. D. Alexander, Colonel Hollenback's step- 
daughter , we are indebted for the greatest portion of 
the facts; and we owe many thanks to her grand- 
daughter, Miss E. P. Alexander, for a beautiful manu- 
script, in which these facts are neatly and comprehens- 
ively written down. We have found little occasion 
for alteration in the manuscript, excepting in cases in 
which the statements have to be somewhat modified 
in view of other information. We have also to ac- 
knowledge our obligations to Hon. G. M. Hollenback, 
only son of Colonel Hollenback. Mrs. Alexander's 
father was killed in the battle when she was but a few 
weeks old, and Colonel Hollenback subsequently mar- 
ried her mother. Her knowledge of the history and 
incidents in the life of Colonel Hollenback is more com- 
plete than that of any person now living, and her rec- 
ollections of facts and conversations of ancient date are 
exceedingly clear and definite. She has stored away 
in her memory a vast mass of facts which she learned 
from her mother and her stepfather in relation to the 
days of Wyoming's troubles. A portion of them are 
here given to the public. Many more might have 
been incorporated in this sketch did our space permit. 



100 WYOMING. 

What we give may be relied upon with the utmost 
confidence. 

Matthias Hollenback was born on the Swatara Creek, 
at Jonestown, Lebanon County, then Lancaster, Penn- 
sylvania, on the 17th day of February, A.D. 1752. 
He was the second son of John Hollenback and El- 
eanor Jones, a lady of Welsh descent : his paternal 
grandfather came from Germany. 

Mr. Hollenback came to Wyoming in 1769, in a com- 
pany of forty young men from that part of the coun- 
try. They were Stuarts, Espys, Youngs, and others, 
and they came with the intention of settling and be- 
coming citizens under Connecticut laws, and aiding the 
Yankees in keeping possession of the country. They 
became entitled to lands under Connecticut claims, 
which they drew after they had been a short time in 
the valley. When Mr. Hollenback came to Wyoming 
he was about seventeen years of age ; for enterprise, 
foresight, and force of character he was, however, "a 
man, every inch of him." The company encamped 
where Mauch Chunk is now situated ; and, after the 
coal interest had called into existence a thriving town 
there, Colonel Hollenback often humorously remarked 
that he ought to put in a claim to that place, for he was 
first in possession. The forty adventurers came into 
Wyoming through a notch of the mountain in what is 
now Hanover ; and when the beautiful valley first 
broke upon their sight, young Hollenback, the young- 
est of the company, threw up his hat, and screamed 
out, "Hurrah! that's the place for me." His com- 
panions laughed, one of them remarking, "Never mind, 
Mat ; he'll do well enough." 

The first land owned by Mr. Hollenback was the 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 101 

tract now owned by the Lazarus family in Button- 
wood, in Hanover Township. 

He immediately commenced business as a merchant, 
having brought a small stock of goods with him. His 
first store was at or near the Block-house, at the mouth 
of Mill Creek. The stock comprised such articles as 
were then actually needed by the settlers, such as gro- 
ceries, ammunition, etc. He did not continue long at 
Mill Creek, but came to Wilkesbarre; and, having 
purchased a lot on what is now the west side of the 
public square, built a large frame house for a store and 
dwelling, and considered himself permanently estab- 
lished, having brought on his younger brother John, 
and sister Mary Ann, to live with him ; the one took 
charge of his business in his many absences, and the 
other managed his household. 

His goods were purchased in Philadelphia, taken in 
wagons to Middletown on the Susquehanna, and then 
transported by water. The first method of transporta- 
tion was by Indian canoes ; and he literally "paddled 
his own canoe" up the winding, rapid Susquehanna 
the whole distance, 150 miles, many times before he 
was able to procure a more capacious vessel and to 
employ men to manage it. Then he purchased a Dur- 
ham boat, which he kept steadily employed. At this 
period, the present road leading through the swamp 
was but a single bridle-path. 

Mr. Hollenback, in his business enterprises, was 
prospered in a remarkable manner, and soon acquired 
distinction, and was promoted to positions of public 
trust and responsibility. 

His first military commission is now before us, and 
is dated " 17th day of October, in the 15th year of the 
reign of our sovereign lord, George the Third, King 



102 WYOMING. 

of Great Britain, &c, Annoque Domini 1775." It is 
an ensign's commission in the " trained band in the 
24th regiment in his majesty's colony of Connecticut. 

On the 26th of August, 1776, he was appointed by 
Congress to serve as ensign in Captain Durkee's com- 
pany of "minute-men," a band raised for the protec- 
tion of the people in the Valley ; but when the Wy- 
oming companies were ordered to join General Wash- 
ington's army, he went with his companions in arms 
to the post of danger. Mr. Hollenback was with the 
army in New Jersey in 1776 and 1777, and fought in 
several battles. He was in the battles of Millstone, 
Trenton, Princeton, and Germantown. That he was 
a man of more than ordinary courage and tact is evi- 
dent from the fact that he was more than once em- 
ployed by Washington as a runner to visit the frontier 
settlements and outposts, and report their danger or 
safety. About the close of 1777, the face of things 
beginning to wear a terrifying appearance in Wyo- 
ming, many of the men who were with the army came 
home, and among them was Mr. Hollenback. Those 
who remained were transferred to the command of 
Captain Simon Spaulding. 

After leaving the army, Mr. Hollenback not only 
addressed himself to his own affairs, but also kept a 
vigilant eye on events of public interest ; and, with 
the natural sagacity for which he was remarkable, saw 
omens of the danger and trial which were in a brief 
space of time so fearfully realized, holding himself in 
readiness for action the moment that the war-cry should 
sound its dread call to the strife. 

About the last day of June or the first day of July, 
1778, the people of the Valley, learning that the enemy 
were on their way down the river, and that there was 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 103 

danger of being surprised by them, sent out scouting- 
parties to observe and report the movements of the 
Indians and Tories. The last scouts who went up 
were Hollenback, and a man whose name is not now 
known. They proceeded fifteen or sixteen miles di- 
rectly up the river, and found the trail of the Indians, 
which led across the mountain; and also found the 
bodies of the two young Hardings, who had just been 
killed, being freshly scalped and much mutilated. 
They found a canoe, in which they embarked, bring- 
ing the murdered men with them, and returned down 
the river to Jenkins's Fort, where they were met by the 
survivors of the Harding family. The men who were 
killed had gone up for the purpose of hoeing corn, and 
had taken their arms with them, but were surprised 
by the Indians, some killed, and the rest taken pris- 
oners, with the exception of a boy who hid himself in 
the river and escaped. 

The man who was with Mr. Hollenback was so over- 
come by the sight of his dead friends that he begged 
to be put on shore, declaring that he would die with 
fear if he staid in the canoe. Mr. Hollenback en- 
deavored to prevail on him to stay, but at length land- 
ed him, and came in alone to the fort ; and upon ar- 
riving there reported that it would be useless to send 
out more scouts, as the foe were so near at hand, and 
all the men they had were needed where they were ; 
that the allied fiends were rapidly approaching the 
Valley, and in great strength compared with those who 
were to resist theiru 

Forty Fort, on the west side of the river, was the 
place of rendezvous for the patriots, and they now be- 
gan to collect in earnest, coming to the fort from 
Wilkesbarre and the country below, mustering all 



104 WYOMING. 

who were able to take part in the fight, and some of 
them bringing their families. This was on Thursday, 
2d of July. 

On Friday morning they marched from the fort in 
order to give battle to the foe, under the principal 
command of Colonel Zebulon Butler, an officer belong- 
ing to the standing army, who was here at the time 
on leave of absence, and had been requested to take 
the command by Colonel Nathan Denison, which he 
did, taking charge of the right wing, Denison taking 
the left. 

Upon issuing from the fort, they moved toward a 
high bank or rise of ground above Shoemaker's, where 
Colonel Butler proposed to halt, and form the army to 
better advantage for giving the enemy battle, think- 
ing it a good position for them to take, and, if possi- 
ble, maintain. But Captain Lazarus Stuart opposed 
the plan, declaring that if Butler did not move on and 
take a stand farther up, he would report him at head- 
quarters as a coward. Butler replied that he did not 
fear to go, but that it was throwing away an advan- 
tageous position, and they would have cause to repent 
it ; and so the event proved. Mrs. Alexander says :* 
" In passing the house of Mr. Sutton, they were met 
by him and requested to halt, he telling them that, as 
the day was very sultry, he had made some hasty prep- 
aration for their refreshment, by setting out a table 
in his house with pails of water and cups to drink from, 
and that all were in readiness for them. His kindness 
was very acceptable, and the men were formed into 
companies of twelve, and, by marching in order around 

* What is here related must have taken place just before the little 
army left the fort, as Mrs. Bedford distinctly informs us that Mr. 
Sutton and his family were at the time in the fort. 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 105 

the table, drank, many of them, their last draught of 
fair water. There was one bottle of rum given, but it 
was hardly tasted- This was told me by Mrs. Sutton 
when we went to be present at the raising of the bones 
of the slain in 1832, and proposed to erect a monument 
to commemorate the massacre. So the infamous re- 
port, which has been current for some years past, and 
told for truth by men who had no interest in or regard 
for the good name of our fathers, that those martyrs 
who fell on the day of Wyoming's doom were under 
the influence of rum, is a base lie ! and admits of no 
milder name. Those true men were driven to death 
and flight, not by force of liquor, but by fearful odds, 
and the combined force of four hundred Tories acAfive 
hundred Indian demons thirsting and eager for their 
blood. That devoted band of three hundred and fifty, 
who went out to battle for all that was dear to them, 
were of too strong a mould to be led into the satisfac- 
tion of an unholy thirst for rum, and their descendants 
should fight as valiantly to remove the foul stain from 
their names as they did upon that fatal day when all 
was lost but honor." 

As the little army marched up the plains, they were 
met by a white flag, the signal of a truce, which, in- 
stead of advancing, began to recede, and, strange as it 
may seem, the patriots followed it. Mr. Hollenback, 
who was at that time acting as one of Colonel Butler's 
lieutenants, opposed this measure, and proposed halt- 
ing and considering the unmilitary action of the flag. 
But Colonel Butler had resolved upon his measures, 
influenced by the banters of the fighting party, and he 
thought it was too late to hesitate. The enemy gave 
way on the right as our men commenced the action. 
For a brief space the fortunes of the day seemed to be 



106 WYOMING. 

on our side. "But Butler perceiving," says Mrs. 
Alexander, "the enemy to be pressing on Denison's 
wing, sent him the order to flank on the left wing, and 
be ready to receive their shock. Denison, mistaking 
the order for that of retreat, and unused to military 
tactics, gave the word to 'Eetreat a little,' instead of 
' Fall back and flank out? It was necessary for them 
to fall back, as there was a swamp to be avoided. 
Eufus Bennet, who was near Denison at the time, told 
me this, and that it was the want of Denison using the 
proper military terms, more than his fright, that caused 
the order to be so construed, by which means our men 
were thrown into confusion, and totally unprepared 
for the terrible slaughter that awaited them, as they 
broke and turned to fly upon hearing the order. Colo- 
nel Butler endeavored to rally them, but they were so 
panic-stricken that the effort was without effect, and 
the enemy had possession of the field. 

11 Our men took to flight, such of them as had es- 
caped death on the field, and the Indians, in full chase, 
commenced their work of slaughter." 

The substance of the following account of Mr. Hol- 
lenback's escape has been furnished by his son, Hon. 
George M. Hollenback, of Wilkesbarre. 

Mr. Hollenback was fighting on the right wing, 
beside Captain Durkee. The firing having ceased 
on the left, Captain Durkee requested him to run 
around the smoke and learn the cause. He returned 
with the answer, " The left wing is all broken up ; the 
men are flying, and the Indians are killing them in all 
directions ;" adding, " Captain Durkee, we must look 
out, or we shall soon be surrounded." At this moment 
the captain was shot in the thigh, and fell, exclaiming, 
'Hollenback, for God's sake save me!' His faithful 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 107 

brother in arms seized the wounded hero and carried 
him some distance toward the river, the murderous 
savages being in hot pursuit. About to be overtaken, 
he was obliged to leave the unhappy man and run for 
his life. The Indians scalped Captain Durkee. Three 
or four pursued Hollenback, who had but a few mo- 
ments the start. The fearful race was for a mile and 
a half down the river toward Monocasy Island. Hol- 
lenback intended to cross the rift at the head of the 
island. Seeing, however, that point full of his hunted 
comrades, and the Indians tomahawking them in the 
river, he changed his mind. The Indians close upon 
him, at a point some sixty rods above the j)oint of the 
island, he suddenly sprang from the bank of the river 
among the willows into a bank of sand. 

He had thrown off his clothing in the chase, retain- 
ing, however, some Continental money and a bill of 
exchange. These he put in his hat, and a piece of 
gold in his mouth, and plunged into the river. The 
Indians immediately commenced firing at him. The 
balls struck the water on both sides of him. He dove 
and swam under water as long as he could hold his 
breath. Eising again to the surface, he swam for his 
life, dodging under the water at the flash of the gun. 
In one instance he was not quite quick enough. A 
ball grazed his skin, when he opened his mouth and 
lost his piece of gold. He, however, retained his hat, 
his Continental money, and bill of exchange. He 
reached the eastern shore, and, supposing himself to 
be shot, he felt for the ball-hole, but found none. En- 
tirely destitute of clothing, he reached the top of the 
bank, and entered the woods at what was called Coop^ 
er's Swamp. He there met Solomon Bennet, who had 
come out of the battle ahead of him. Bennet had 



108 WYOMING. 

his hunting-shirt and pantaloons, and Hollenback beg- 
ged him to divide, which, with the characteristic gen- 
erosity of a patriot and a soldier, he promptly did, giv- 
ing him the hunting-shirt, and retaining the panta- 
loons for himself. 

Remaining in the swamp about an hour to rest, 
our hero then made the best of his way through the 
woods, over the hills, avoiding all paths ; exhausted by 
his prodigious efforts, and scratched with briers, he 
reached his home about one o'clock on the morning 
of the 4th of July. 

The noble citizen soldier sought no permanent re- 
pose or exemption from the common danger. He re- 
mained at his own house only long enough to put on 
some clothing, and walked directly to Fort Wyoming, 
the site of the present old court-house. He announced 
his name at the gate, heard it repeated within : "Hol- 
lenback has come !" was the joyful exclamation. " No, 
no," responded the familiar voice of Nathan Carey, 
" you'll never see Hollenback again. He was on the 
right wing. I am sure he is killed." The gate was 
opened, however, and Hollenback stepped in. It be- 
ing dark, and there being no candles, Nathan Carey 
lit a pine knot to see if it was really Hollenback, and 
then, overwhelmed with joy, embraced him with a 
brother's affection. 

At four o'clock, this heroic man, without waiting to 
sleep a wink, pushed out on an Indian path, braving 
all dangers, to meet Spaulding with his seventy men, 
with a view of getting them into Wyoming Fort, to 
hold it against their savage foes. He met them at Bear 
Creek, but Captain Spaulding declined the hazard. 
Hollenback, however, so far prevailed as to induce fif- 
teen or twenty of the men to accompany him, and on 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 109 

reaching the slope of the mountain near "Prospect 
Rock," he discovered his own house on fire ; and a 
greater calamity soon appeared. The savages were in 
possession of the fort. Seeing all lost, he promptly 
directed his energies to the relief of the sufferers. He 
had procured from Spaulding's commissary all the pro- 
visions he could pack on his horse, and, following the 
fugitives, mostly women and children, he overtook 
them and fed them through the wilderness. He went 
to the Wind-Gap, and at Heller's and Easton followed 
grubbing a few weeks at twenty -five cents per 'day. 
He then returned to the Valley and set about repairing 
his loss. His credit at Philadelphia being good, he 
obtained a few goods, and began the world anew. 

We now return to a few circumstances narrated by 
Mrs. Alexander, which occurred upon his reaching his 
house on the night of the fatal 3d of July. 

When it was known that he had returned, every 
one was eager to question him concerning the fate of 
the day, and one Betsy Smith came in great haste to 
make inquiries after some of her friends, but was una- 
ble to speak with him, being met by his servant Jeanie, 
who demanded of her, ; ' Could she na let the mon alane, 
gin his claithes were put on?" when Miss Smith ten- 
dered her apologies, not knowing the state of his entree 
into town. 

Jeanie was a lass from the land o' cakes, and was 
always spoken of as " Scotch Jeanie." Mr. Hollenback 
had paid her passage-money from the old country, as 
was quite customary in those days ; and Jeanie not only 
worked out the amount, but remained in his family for 
some time, very much trusted, and was the last to leave 
his house, saying that she would stay and protect her 
master's property as long as she could. 



110 WYOMING. 

After a little relaxation, Mr. Hollenback visited 
Spauldings company to obtain, if possible, some men 
to return to Wyoming with him. Spaulding opposed 
his returning then, and ordered him into the ranks. 
He obliged him to stay there, near the Delaware, for 
nearly six weeks. At length he, with Lieutenant Jen- 
kins, John Carey, and others, to the number of fifteen, 
came back to Pittston to learn what they could of the 
enemy's movements. In looking about, they observed 
a smoke issuing from the old block-house on the other 
side of the river, and a canoe moored near it, of which 
they concluded to possess themselves. Hollenback 
swam over, took the u dug-out," and was fired at, but 
not hit. They then started for "Wilkesbarre, some in 
the canoe, the others on foot. Among the latter, Ca- 
rey, Jenkins, and Hollenback. 

On the way down they came upon a party of In- 
dians who were driving a yoke of oxen loaded with 
plunder. Jenkins, being the superior officer of the 
party, ordered to ( ' Halt !" but Hollenback shouted, 
" Eush on !" and, with Carey at his heels, flew after the 
Indians, who fled, leaving their booty, which the party 
took, and came on to the fort in Wilkesbarre. 

Then, hearing of some disturbance in the lower part 
of Hanover, they asked Butler to let them have some 
more men, and they would go down and see about it. 
They wanted a company, but only got fifteen, making 
thirty in all. They proceeded down as far as Al- 
den's, or Forge Creek, now Lee's, to Commer's Mill, 
where they found the Indians had been plundering, 
but had not got over the river. They were in a canoe. 
The party divided, and followed them on each side of 
the creek to its mouth, where they surprised and fired 
on them : one appeared to reel, as if to fall in the river, 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. Ill 

but recovered himself, being only wounded. The In- 
dians left the plunder which they had taken at the 
mill ; it consisted of a bag of flour, a bag of cucumbers, 
a bag of meat, a pair of boots, and a hat, all of which 
the men brought up to town with them. 

The remains of the slain were collected and buried 
in a common grave, on the 22d of October. In rela- 
tion to that event, Mrs. Alexander remarks: "I have 
conversed with several, besides Mr. Hollenback, who 
were present at the burial, and recognized many of the 
dead, though it was hard to identify them, as they had 
lain so long in the hot sun, and had been scarped and 
otherwise mutilated. Mr. Cooper, who afterward lived 
at the c Plains,' told my mother, the late Mrs. Matthias 
Hollenback, that he saw my father, Cyprian Hebberd, 
her first husband, interred with the others. 

" My father had gone up with the others on the 2d 
of July from Hanover, where he resided, and had left 
my mother, with her parents and friends, in Stuart's 
block-house, in Button wood, giving her all the money 
he had at the time, between sixteen and seventeen 
pounds, a good horse and saddle for her to ride, and 
another to be led, as he was certain they would be 
obliged to flee. I was then an infant of about two 
weeks old, having been born on the 18th of June. 

" Father had an idea that he would not return, and 
accordingly made the best preparation he could for the 
welfare of his family in case he should not. He was in 
the Hanover company, who were stationed in the left 
wing, under command of Colonel Denison • and, after 
the fatal order of retreat had been given, seeing that it 
was useless to remain upon the field, he joined the oth- 
ers in the flight to the river. He was a very active 
man, and remarkably agile, Samuel Carey, who was 



112 WYOMING. 

with him, lias told me that he would certainly have 
made his escape, but that, in running through a field 
of tall rye, instead of springing over it, he broke it 
down to make the way easier for his fugitive compan- 
ions, and by so doing retarded his own flight, and was 
overtaken by the Indians and surrounded. Carey man- 
aged to reach the river and get into the water ; but my 
father, exhausted with running and breaking down 
the grain, was just stepping in, when a stalwart Indian 
overtook him, and, plunging a spear into him, gave 
him his death- wound. He fell in the edge of the wa- 
ter, in sight of Carey, who told me the fact. Carey 
was taken prisoner by the Indians, and remained with 
them five years in captivity. 

" The night of the 3d of July, Halldron, a tenant of 
my father's, came to the block-house in Buttonwood, 
and told the party there that they must leave it, as the 
Indians would be upon them before morning. But my 
grandmother, Mrs. Burritt, said she did not think they 
would be along before the third day after; nor were 
they. However, the party set out immediately, and 
proceeded two miles, then halted, and waited the ris- 
ing of the moon, the night being very dark ; then set 
out on their journey again, and were three days and 
nights in getting to Fort Allen, now Allentown, on the 
Lehigh. The second night there was a child born in 
the camp, the son of Mrs. Morris, whose husband was 
in the battle, but escaped. 

"When they reached the Lehigh a man came over 
the river to meet them, riding a powerful horse, and 
bringing a bag of biscuit and two large jugs of milk, 
with which he fed them, and also helping such as had 
no horses of their own to cross the river, by taking two 
at a time on his own horse, and fording them over. 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 113 

" The party liad suffered much for want of water on 
the road, and when they got to the Lehigh both man 
and beast were eager to quench their thirst. The horse 
my mother rode put down its head so suddenly as to 
jerk the bridle from her hand, and I, whom she carried 
in her bridle-arm, was thrown from her grasp, and but 
for her catching my clothes quick as thought, I had 
closed a brief life by drowning in the Lehigh. 

"The route which was taken by the fugitive party 
was called the 'Warrior's Path,' and led from Wyo- 
ming to Fort Allen. Some vestiges of it still exist, 
and it is noted in the old surveys and maps. The 
party were three weeks on the road from Wyoming to 
Connecticut, the place of their destination." 

Mr. Hollenback was for a time so discouraged by 
the turn of affairs in Wyoming and the unsettled state 
of things there, that he left and went to Easton, where 
he lived with some of his acquaintances, but did not 
remain long. He was calculated for a life of activity 
and business, and was ill at ease while he was not ac- 
tively and profitably employed. As his interests were 
all in Wyoming, he returned, built another house and 
store — still standing in Wilkesbarre — and once more 
embarked in mercantile pursuits, taking into partner- 
ship a Mr. Hagaman. As was the case before, the man 
was remarkably successful, extending his business, en- 
larging his influence, and increasing rapidly his pecun- 
iary resources. 

The inhabitants of Wyoming had hardly become 
settled after the trouble with the Indians when the 
Pennamite feud again broke out, in which Mr. Hollen- 
back took an active part on the Yankee side. He ren- 
dered the New England people good service, not so 
much in fighting as by giving those who did fight 



114 WYOMING. 

the "aid and comfort" they needed — affording them 
at his establishment powder, lead, and provisions. A 
party of Yankees retired to the mountain for safety, 
and constructed under a hanging rock a rude fortifica- 
tion, calling it "Lillapie," or Fort Lillapie. To this 
hiding-place Mr. Hollenback frequently sent a stock of 
ammunition and eatables by trusty adherents to the 
cause, and assisted the party in various other ways. 
These civil wars very much retarded the progress of 
the country, and we now can hardly imagine the 
amount of trouble attendant on them. Much mischief 
was done by the Pennamites in the exercise of their 
authority, and many people were killed in the various 
skirmishes. Colonel Pickering came here, on the part 
of the Pennsylvanians, to adjust matters between them 
and the Yankees, but the affair was a tedious one, and 
a long time elapsed before its conclusion. The Yan- 
kees finally adopted Pennsylvania laws, and their lands 
were resurveyed and apportioned again under Penn- 
sylvania warrants. 

After the establishment of peace between the United 
States and Great Britain, Mr. Hollenback made the ex- 
periment of going with a large drove of cattle to Niag- 
ara. On arriving there he was taken prisoner by the 
British and Indians, they not having been informed of- 
ficially of peace being made between the two nations. 
They kept him six weeks, until the intelligence was 
received, after which his captors purchased his cattle, 
and he realized a large profit. He made considerable 
money by this trip, and was encouraged to keep up the 
trade.. 

Determined to extend his business operations, he 
bought lands at Tioga Point — now Athens — and New- 
town — now Elmira — where he established stores in or- 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLEXBACK. 115 

der to trade with the Indians, and laid in a stock, at 
both places, of such articles as would attract their cus- 
tom, and for which they would exchange their furs and 
peltries. 

On one occasion he took a number of men with him, 
and went up to their town, on the Seneca Lake, to 
make arrangements with them and obtain their trade. 
But the Indians were suspicious that the party had 
come for the purpose of surveying and taking away 
their lands, and consequently made them all prisoners. 
All their baggage underwent a thorough search to see 
if there was a compass with the party, and Mr. Hollen- 
back always thought that, had one been discovered, 
they would have paid the penalty with their lives. 
They counciled, and came to the conclusion at least to 
kill him, as he led the party, and even sent some dis- 
tance for a young brave to come and kill the " Shinne- 
wany." Mr. Hollenback said he felt somewhat alarm- 
ed, but took care not to manifest the fact ; and when 
the chief entered the wigwam, he returned his steady 
and fixed gaze with one equally as steady. He rose 
and extended his hand ; the chief had his tomahawk 
raised for instant use, and had, without doubt, intended 
to dispatch him ; but his coolness and friendly bearing 
had its effect, and the brave gave him to understand 
that he need not fear, and seemed willing to hear what 
he had to say. After having conferred with him, and 
finding that his was a peaceful errand, that he had no 
idea of getting their lands, but wished to trade with 
them, he set him and his party at liberty, and agreed 
to influence his tribe to bring their trade and furs to 
Newtown. The result was their good- will and contin- 
ued trade for many years after. 

He went many times to Niagara with cattle, and 



116 WYOMING. 

once collected a large drove, which he intrusted to a 
young man to take there ; the fellow sold the cattle, 
and ran off with the money, Mr. Hollenback losing the 
whole. 

In 1783, a treaty between the whites and Indians 
was held at Newtown. Mr. Hollenback had been em- 
ployed by the government to furnish the Indians with 
all they required while they were there. In this op- 
eration he made about a thousand pounds. Colonel 
Pickering was the person who treated with them, and 
was so much of a favorite that they complimented him 
by giving him a name which, in English, means "the 
side of a mountain." 

The famous John Jacob Astor was at this time do- 
ing business in Philadelphia, where Mr. Hollenback 
made his acquaintance as a customer. In 1789, by ar- 
rangement, Astor accompanied his friend from Wilkes- 
barre, up the Susquehanna, and so on to Canada. On 
the way they crossed the outlet of the Seneca, which 
was much swollen by a heavy rain, in which act As- 
tor came near losing his life. He was not then accus- 
tomed to fording streams on horseback, and in the 
middle of the stream his head became unsteady. Hol- 
lenback, seeing Astor reel in his saddle, by a glanc- 
ing stroke with the butt of his whip dashed the water 
in his face, and, at the same time, struck him under his 
chin, and roared out, " Look up, Astor !" He recov- 
ered himself, and came out of the imminent peril with- 
out harm. 

It was this journey which made Astor's fortune. 
He saw the vast profits which could be made in the 
fur trade, and commenced his operations in that line. 
He made an effort to get his friend Hollenback to go 
to New York and engage in business with him ; but 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 117 

the latter had settled his plans for life, already having 
considerable real estate in the Susquehanna Valley, 
and was not to be diverted from his purpose. These 
veteran traders met in New York in 1824 for the first 
time after their separation in Canada, and talked over 
their early adventures to their mutual gratification. 
" Hollenback, have you any sons?" inquired Astor. 
" I have one," was the answer. " Send him to me, and 
I will take care of him." " I thank you, sir; he can 
take care of himself," replied Colonel Hollenback. 

The last trip which Mr. Hollenback made to Ni- 
agara was in 1792 ; and, after selling out his stock and 
concluding his business there, he made the discovery 
that the Indians were preparing to waylay and rob 
him on his return home. Such being the case, he laid 
his plans warily to elude them. His own horse being 
lame, he exchanged it with the landlord for another ; 
had it taken into the woods at night and shod ; and, 
all things being in readiness, he, with several others, 
started under cover of the night to pass through 
woods, and swamps, and over rivers, back to Penn- 
sylvania. 

There was with them an aged Dunker minister, 
named Eothruck, who was ill and poorly clad, and on 
foot. He had taken out cattle to sell in order to pay 
for his farm, and succeeded in getting bills of exchange 
for them. Mr. Hollenback was very kind to him, and 
helped him on as far as Owego, telling him to wait 
there until some rafts came down the river, and then 
to go to his house, and his wife would " nurse him up 
again." He did so, and Mrs. Hollenback clothed him, 
and ministered to his wants. When the wagons went 
down to Philadelphia for goods, he was put in one of 
them, and safely transported to the city, where Mr. 



118 WYOMING. 

Hollenback got his bills negotiated, and sent Mm home 
rejoicing. 

At one of the halting-places on the ronte the party 
found the vestiges of a man's clothes hanging on some 
bushes near a spring, and other indications of foul play 
with some one. They proved to be the clothes of a 
man — Mr. Street — who had left Niagara before them 
with about $2000, and had here been waylaid and 
murdered by a man whose name was Gale. Mr. Hol- 
lenback afterward found out the murderer, and suc- 
ceeded in putting officers on his track : he was taken 
and hung. 

Before leaving Niagara, he found that part of a no- 
torious band of highwaymen, well known at the time 
and much feared — " The Doanes and Tomblesons" — 
were there, and also watching him closely. He as- 
certained that it was their purpose to follow him, and 
wait until he had stopped at all his trading stations, 
returned home, and set out again to purchase goods in 
Philadelphia, then to attack and rob kim, as he would 
then have a large sum of money, and be the kind of 
prey they sought. 

But he was too sagacious and brave to fall into their 
hands, though he came very near it. Soon after com- 
ing home he started for the city, and passed over the 
greater part of the distance before any thing occurred 
to alarm him. Upon riding along a sandy track in 
the woods one night, he heard some slight sound, and 
finally whispers in the bush, and his name was men- 
tioned. Certain that he was dogged, he made all speed, 
and reached a sort of tavern, and disguising himself as 
much as possible, and also feigning drunkenness, he 
dismounted, and began to look about to see what kind 
of place it was. Seeing many strange-looking men 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 119 

about, and not liking the appearance of things, he did 
not remain long ; but, before he left, he noticed a party 
of odd-looking fellows arrive from the same direction 
which he had come, who were evidently the ones he 
had heard in the woods, and answered well to the de- 
scription of the Doanes, etc. He reached that same 
night another house kept by a widow, where they were 
in great alarm for fear of a descent by the Doanes, who 
were then filling the country with dread. Having 
taken supper, he retired to his apartment, got out his 
pistols, and watched the night long instead of sleeping. 
He arrived at the city the next day, and deposited his 
funds safely in the hands of Mr. Dorsie, his banker, 
thus escaping the Doanes and Tomblesons, who found 
in him too much courage and tact for their purposes. 

Mr. Hollenback finally became more settled, and no 
longer went out on such toilsome and hazardous jour- 
neys, but remained more at home, still pursuing his 
business with energy and success. The mercantile 
business he kept up until the end of his life, and al- 
ways prospered in it : his store was for many years the 
best in Wilkesbarre. 

He was made justice of the peace after the estab- 
lishment of the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania in Wy- 
oming, and, when the new Constitution was formed, 
was appointed associate judge of Luzerne County 
courts, in which capacity he served until the time of 
his death, which event occurred on the 18th day of 
February, 1829, the day after he was seventy-seven 
years old. His commission as associate judge is dated 
" in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred 
and ninety one," under the administration of Governor 
Mifflin. His first commission as lieutenant colonel is 
dated 1787, another is dated 1792, and still another 



120 WYOMING. 

1793. These commissions are all preserved, and are 
upon our table. The first of them was given by the 
executive council of Pennsylvania, and contains the 
autograph of Dr. Franklin. 

When Jackson was running for President, he de- 
termined to vote for him, considering him the man 
most eligible for that high and honorable office. Be- 
ing quite ill, he went to the polls in his carriage, and 
the judges came out and received his vote, the last one 
he ever gave. This was in November, 1828. 

Colonel Hollenback always took great interest in 
religious affairs and the welfare of the Church. He 
gave largely toward building the first church built in 
Wilkesbarre, and was generally punctual in his attend- 
ance upon the services, never absenting himself when 
it was convenient to attend. His house was the home 
of ministers, and his hand always open to them. 

He was, in many respects, an extraordinary man. 
There was no such word as failure in his vocabulary. 
He had courage and sagacity both equal to any thing 
in his line. In all his business relations he was a pat- 
tern of punctuality and fidelity to public trusts and 
private confidence. 

Mrs. Alexander says : " My mother was a few months 
his senior. She was, in all respects, a suitable helpmeet 
for him, and during his long absences took the entire 
charge of his affairs. His confidence in her was great, 
he never doubting her ability. Her benevolence was 
remarkable, and evinced itself in more than one in- 
stance. She was the friend of the poor and needy, 
and, until the close of her long life, practiced that kind- 
ness and sympathy toward her fellow-creatures which 
her enlarged means admitted of, and her memory is 
held in grateful remembrance by many who are now 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 121 

living ; and very many more, who, like her, have long 
since gone to ' that undiscovered country from whose 
bourne no traveler returns,' and can not now speak 
save through their descendants, were once the objects 
of her kind consideration. Both Judge Hollenback and 
his wife took an active interest in all that related to 
the settlement of this valley, and the stirring events 
of its history. They lived to see it in prosperity, and 
entirely recovered from the terrible blow which so 
nearly blotted its white settlers from existence, when 
they departed peacefully at the Master's summons. 
My mother lived some years after Father Hollenback's 
death. She was born the 19th of November, 1750, in 
Huntington, Connecticut, and died July 21st, 1833, in 
her eighty -third year." 

Judge Hollenback was a character ; he was emphat- 
ically a man for the times. He never knew fear ; and 
that he was not reckless may be inferred from the fact 
mat, amid the perils of his eventful life, he was never 
wrecked. He was brave, but not headlong. He cal- 
culated upon consequences with great precision. He 
was sometimes accused of obstinacy; he certainly 
had great firmness. Fierce and unprincipled opposi- 
tion would wake up in him the old soldier, and he was 
ji terrible foe. His perseverance and his power of en- 
durance were almost beyond precedent. He took all 
his journeys on horseback, and his range of business 
was from Niagara to Philadelphia. Between Wyo- 
ming and the New York state-line he owned immense 
quantities of wild land. He often visited his lands 
personally and alone, traveling for days, and even 
weeks, through the wilds of Northern Pennsylvania, 
and being as much at home in the wilderness, without 
a path, as in his counting-room. When night over- 

F 



122 WYOMING. 

took him, he turned into the nearest human habita- 
tion, be it ever so humble, and made himself at home. 
He said to the man of the house, " Give my horse a 
peck of oats, or four quarts of corn ;" and, entering 
the dwelling, perhaps a small log cabin, his language 
would be, " Good woman, I want a dish of mush and 
milk." Taking his seat while his supper was being 
made ready, quite likely he would fall asleep in his 
chair. His "mush and milk" disposed of, he perhaps 
asked for a blanket, and flung himself down on the 
floor, with his head upon his saddle-bags, and slept 
sweetly until daylight, when he was off. In his trav- 
els he often lay out in the woods upon the ground, 
covered only by the rose blanket upon which he rode. 

In 1824-5, when traveling an extensive district, 
embracing a portion of Northern Pennsylvania and 
Southern New York, we often fell in with the veteran 
pioneer. He rode a large sorrel horse — a low-carriaged 
animal, but a fine racker. He would ride that animal 
from forty to sixty miles in a day. He often took re- 
freshing naps on horseback, during which his horse 
would move quietly along, but, when he awoke to 
consciousness, his sagacious animal soon understood 
that an increase of speed was expected. 

Judge Hollenback was full of life, humorous, even 
jocose, and fond of repartee. He was good company, 
full of anecdote, and was a considerable wit. He liked 
a good joke even when it was against himself. When 
free from the cares of business, he would unbend him- 
self, and, walking back and forth across the floor, would 
amuse his friends, young and old, by telling stories. 
"Once," said he, on such an occasion, "when a lad, I 
crossed a grave-yard in the night, and thought I was 
not afraid until I made a false step and tumbled down 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 



123 



among the graves. I was then so frightened that I 
bawled Eke a calf. I jumped up, and ran for life, 
thinking the ghosts were close at my heels." On one 
occasion, having been overtaken on the mountains by 
an awful thunder-storm, he said he paused under a 
great tree, and the thunder and the lightning were so 
terrible that he feared and quaked ; and feeling that 
he ought to pray, he could think of nothing to say but 
" Now I lay me down to sleep," etc. 

As for pride of equipage, Judge Hollenback had 
none. His dress was neat, but plain. He lived in a 
plain, old-fashioned, low frame house, planned for the 
purposes both of a dwelling and a store. He owned 




no splendid carriage and plated harness, but traveled 
either on foot or upon horseback, with his saddle at- 



124 WYOMING. 

tired with a blanket, or a sheepskin tanned with the 
wool on. 

Colonel Hollenback was as true-hearted a patriot as 
ever breathed. When the Revolutionary struggle 
commenced he held a military commission under the 
government of King George the Third, and every mo- 
tive which could be presented to an aspiring and a 
mercenary mind was urged as a reason for his espous- 
ing the royal cause. His patriotic feelings spurned 
the whole. He "threw up" his royal commission, 
and, as soon as his services were called for, he accepted 
one from the Continental Congress, in the most gloomy 
period of the Revolutionary struggle. His sympathy 
for the sufferers, and his energy in supplying their 
wants upon the occasion of that melancholy exodus of 
the settlers of the 4th of July, 1778, have been referred 
to. We have often heard the survivors of that terri- 
ble flight dwell with enthusiasm upon Hollenback's 
services and manner on that occasion. His horse was 
loaded with bread and biscuits. He flung a loaf to 
one group and then to another, with his usual saluta- 
tion, " God bless you ! Keep up good courage ; you 
will reach the settlement in safety," and words of like 
import. His timely supplies, his courage, his genial, 
earnest spirit, were largely instrumental in the deliver- 
ance of scores of the fugitives from death in the wil- 
derness. 

An anecdote was related to Mr. G. M. Hollenback 
by the late Judge Scott which furnishes a good illus- 
tration of the character of our subject. After the war 
was over, and Colonel John Butler was reposing upon 
his honors in Canada, he made application to the Brit- 
ish government to be admitted to the honor of knight- 
hood. His reputation had suffered in England, as 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 125 

well as in America, from the accounts which had been 
published of his cruelties in "Wyoming. It was judged 
by his friends that if he could obtain a certificate from 
one of the officers who was present on the American 
side in that unequal conflict, to the effect that Colonel 
Butler's conduct was humane and soldier-like on the 
occasion, his application would succeed. Accordingly, 
a suitable messenger — a bland English gentleman — 
was dispatched to Wyoming. Colonel Hollenback 
was the man to be addressed. The agent of Butler 
called upon the old soldier at his office and opened the 
matter, taking from his pocket a parchment beautiful- 
ly executed, only wanting the signature. Colonel 
Hollenback read it carefully ; then, looking the gentle- 
man in the eye, asked, "Do you expect me to sign 
this ?" " Yes, sir, if you please," was the answer. " I 
shall not do it, for it is not true." Butler's agent 
urged the matter respectfully but earnestly, but the 
reply was reiterated, " It is not a word of it true, sir — 
I say, sir, it is a big lie." The dernier resort was 
finally reached, and that was to "a purse of gold." 
This was a match flung into the magazine. The fiery 
soul of the old patriot could no longer keep itself 
within due bounds. "Gold! gold!" he thundered 
out, with voice enough to reach the outskirts of his 
regiment, if he had been upon the battle-field, " your 
king has not got gold enough to buy me, sir." Then, 
loading the poor, disappointed agent with a volley of 
epithets, he pointed to the door, and said, " There, sir, 
is the door; let me never see you again upon this 
business." The gentleman was almost petrified, but 
made out to steer his course between the door-posts, 
and so disappeared, considering himself rather fortu- 
nate, as well he might, that he was permitted to make 



126 WYOMING. 

his exit without help. A man whom gold could not 
buy was probably to him a strange spectacle. 

The stirring enterprise, the untiring energy, and 
the thorough business habits of Judge Hollenback ex- 
erted a vast influence upon the progress and elevation 
of the country. He found business for many poor 
laborres ; he furnished supplies to multitudes of new 
settlers ; he took an active part in the early public im- 
provements; he kept in circulation a large capital; 
and he was a living — almost ever-present — example of 
industry and economy. Not Wyoming alone, but the 
whole country between Wilkesbarre and Elmira, owes 
much of its early development and present prosperity 
to the business arrangements and the indomitable per- 
severance of Matthias Hollenback. 

Colonel Hollenback was employed by Eobert Mor- 
ris, the agent of Louis the Sixteenth, to provide a 
place of retreat for the royal household at some se- 
cluded spot on the Susquehanna. This was in 1793. 
He accordingly purchased twelve hundred acres of land 
lying in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, and embrac- 
ing the locality where Frenchtown was subsequent- 
ly built. The unfortunate monarch, however, never 
occupied this asylum in the wilds of Pennsylvania, al- 
beit many of his subjects did. Louis 
Philippe, the late " King of the 
French," in 1795 came through "the 
Wind-Gap" on horseback, and lodged 
in Wilkesbarre in " the old red tav- 
ern," on the river bank, then kept 
by James Morgan, and subsequently 
known as "the old Arndt Hotel," 
and then made his way up to French- 
town. All this is true : but our soil is none the bet- 




COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 127 

ter for having been owned by falling monarchs, or 
even trod by the feet of royal fugitives. Louis Phil- 
ippe, like Colonel Hollenback, learned in America to 
sleep on "the soft side of a board," a practice which 
he never wholly abandoned. 

Resolutions passed by the Officers of the Court and Mem- 
bers of the Bar : 

"At a meeting of the officers of the court and mem- 
bers of the bar of the County of Luzerne, held in the 
borough of Wilkesbarre, on Thursday, the 19 th inst., 
the following resolutions were submitted, and unani- 
mously adopted : 

" Resolved, That we have heard with regret the death 
of the venerable Matthias Hollenback, one of the as- 
sociate judges of the courts of this county, and that in 
testimony of his memory we will wear crape upon the 
left arm for thirty days. 

"Resolved, That we will attend the funeral of the 
deceased on Saturday next, from his late residence in 
this borough. 

" Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with the wid- 
ow and family of the deceased in their late bereave- 
ment, and that a committee be appointed to present 
them with a copy of these proceedings, and to make 
arrangements for the funeral. 

"February 19, 1829." 

The following communication, copied from the Sus- 
quehanna Democrat, was written by the Hon.' David 
Scott. 

"Friday, February 27th, 1829. 

" The Hon. Matthias Hollenback, whose death was 
announced in your paper of last week, was born of 



128 WYOMING. 

German parentage, in Hanover, upon the Swatara, then 
Lancaster, now Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Here 
he was inured to all the sufferings and privations inci- 
dent to a frontier settlement at that early day. Pos- 
sessed of a firm and vigorous constitution, and endued 
by nature with a strong, active, and enterprising mind, 
at the age of seventeen he joined the first adventurous 
party who came to make a permanent settlement, un- 
der the authority of Connecticut, in the Yalley of Wy- 
oming. This was in the autumn of 1769. From this 
period the history of his long and eventfiil life is iden- 
tified with the history of this part of the country. 

"In the controversy between Pennsylvania and Con- 
necticut he actively and firmly adhered to the latter, 
under whose auspices he had embarked his youthful 
fortunes, and whose claims he regarded as paramount 
to every other, until the right of soil and the right of 
jurisdiction to the country were decreed, by a compe- 
tent tribunal, to be in the former. From that moment 
he yielded obedience to the Constitution and laws of 
Pennsylvania, and contributed all in his power to 
quiet the turbulent, and to reconcile the disaffected to 
the legitimate authorities. 

" This dispute between Pennsylvania and Connecti- 
cut had assumed all the characteristics of a civil war, 
and, notwithstanding the conciliatory recommendations 
and remonstrances of the Continental Congress, it was 
continued during the Revolutionary struggle. "While 
the poor and destitute settlers were suffering on the 
one side from the common enemies of the country — the 
British, the savage Indians, and the worse than savage 
Tories — they were attacked on the other, and endured 
equal distress, by military parties under the authority 
of Pennsylvania. 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 129 

"Thus surrounded with difficulties and dangers cal- 
culated to appall the stoutest heart — at a period, too, 
when many good but timid men doubted, hesitated, 
and feared, young Hollenback, in want of every thing 
but personal courage and patriotic feeling, was ap- 
proached by one of those agents of the mother-coun- 
try whose bland and fascinating manners, and duplic- 
ity of heart, marked him out as a fit emissary for ' trea- 
son, stratagem, and spoil.' On the one hand, the ef- 
forts making to free the country from British domin- 
ion was represented as entirely hopeless, and that, upon 
failure, poverty, shame, and death every where await- 
ed the active partisan ; on the other, by espousing the 
cause of the British king, money, office, and honor 
would be immediately conferred, and a life of ease and 
independence secured. The youth stood firm. He 
was not to be allured from the path of duty. He had 
taken his resolution, staked his all upon the issue, and 
was willing to abide the result. 

" In 1776 — perhaps the following year — two compa- 
nies were raised in Wyoming, in one of which young 
Hollenback was appointed a lieutenant. He was active 
and successful in filling up and preparing his company 
for active service, and shortly after joined the army, 
under General Washington, in the State of ISTew Jer- 
sey. His merits were soon discovered and properly 
appreciated by the general, who frequently consulted 
him in relation to the frontier settlements, and the 
means of defending them against the incursions of the 
enemy. He participated in all the sufferings of our 
half-fed and half-clothed troops during a winter cam- 
paign in the State of New Jersey, and was on several 
occasions employed by the general in the execution 
of confidential agencies. 

F2 



130 WYOMING. 

" Such was the patriotism and spirit of the Wyo- 
ming settlers, that, during .a short period, when they 
were not immediately threatened with attacks from the 
enemy, almost every efficient man among them joined 
the regular army, and left their families without pro- 
tection. This calm portended a storm. The defense- 
less state of the frontier invited aggression. The Val- 
ley again began to suffer from the tomahawk, scalping- 
knife, and firebrand, and early in 1778 it was discover- 
ed that a horde of British, Indians, and Tories were col- 
lecting upon the Susquehanna frontier, and preparing 
to pour down upon the Yalley of Wyoming, and ex- 
terminate the defenseless settlers. The officers from 
Wyoming urged the general to send a force for its 
protection, or to permit the two companies drawn from 
this settlement to return, for the purpose of defending 
their aged and helpless parents, wives, and children ; 
but such was the situation of the army that no ade- 
quate force could be spared. An intense anxiety was 
felt among the officers : some obtained furloughs, and 
some resigned and returned to the Yalley. Every prep- 
aration was made in their power to repel their invad- 
ers. About 350 men marched out to meet the enemy : 
they were drawn into an ambuscade. The result is 
known ; Wyoming was reduced to widowhood and or- 
phanage. About fifty only escaped that disastrous 
battle, of whom the subject of this notice was one. 

11 Articles of capitulation, in which security and pro- 
tection of life were stipulated, were no sooner signed 
than they were violated on the part of the faithless and 
bloodthirsty enemy. What property could not be 
carried away was burned and destroyed, and the rem- 
nant of the settlers were driven, naked and houseless, 
to the surrounding mountains. Lieutenant Hollen- 



COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK, 131 

back, whose property was all destroyed, still clung to 
the Valley, and participated in all its sufferings till the 
conclusion of the war. 

" Upon the settlement of the controversy between 
Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and upon the promul- 
gation of the laws of Pennsylvania in the disputed ter- 
ritory in 1786, Mr. Hollenback was chosen and ap- 
pointed one of the justices of the courts of Luzerne 
County ; and upon the adoption of the new Constitu- 
tion he was reappointed an associate judge, which of- 
fice he sustained with reputation till the time of his 
decease. He was honored with the command of a 
regiment by his fellow-citizens — a military office, being 
almost the only one in Pennsylvania compatible with 
that of a judge. 

11 In all the great political struggles which have agi- 
tated the country, Judge Hollenback was always ac- 
tively and firmly attached to the cause of the people. 
In the recent conflict, although most of those around 
him with whom he had been accustomed to act enter- 
tained different views, and although he was exceeding- 
ly enfeebled by disease, he procured himself to be car- 
ried to the poll, and there, for the last time, exercised 
the right of suffrage in favor of the distinguished in- 
dividual who has succeeded to the presidency. He 
was firmly persuaded that the interests of the country 
demanded this preference, and he acted accordingly.* 

* Colonel Hollenback's preference for General Jackson as a can- 
didate for the presidency was natural, there being many strong 
points of character which the two men possessed in common. They 
were both old soldiers and men of the right grit, the true successors 
and representatives of the brave old knights of the days of chivalry. 
When Colonel Hollenback's carriage arrived before the court-house 
a scene occurred. The late General Isaac Bowman, standing upon 
the steps, with a full tone of voice said, "Colonel Hollenback, the 



132 WYOMING. 

" It is believed that he was not a member of any 
Christian Church, but it is known that he reverenced 
the religion of the Cross. Throughout his life he con- 
tributed liberally to the support of that communion 
and its pastors, to which he was conscientiously attach- 
ed, and it is feared it will long feel the want of his sup- 
porting hand. 

" His life was a life of temperance, industry, and at- 
tention to his business, the full fruits of which he en- 
joyed, in almost uninterrupted health, until his last ill- 
ness, and in an ample fortune. From the incidents of 
his life the young may draw useful lessons for the reg- 
ulation of their conduct, and from his death all may 
learn that man is mortal: that neither riches, nor hon- 
ors, nor virtue, nor age, can form any shield against the 
fell destroyer." 

old soldier, who helped fight the battles of the Revolution, has left 
his bed to come and vote for General Jackson — the last vote which 
he will ever cast." The board of judges came out and took the vote. 
The feelings of the people were excited to a high pitch. "Hurrah 
for the old soldier!" "Hurrah for Jackson!" burst forth from the 
spectators in all directions. It is said that some who had already 
voted for the opposing candidate joined in the cheering, and others 
who came to do the same stepped up and cast their votes for "the 
hero of New Orleans." 



MRS. MYERS. 138 



IV. 

INCIDENTS AND ADVENTURES RELATED BY MRS. 
MARTHA MYERS. 

"In winter's tedious nights sit by the fire 
With good old folks, and let them tell their tales 
Of woeful ages long ago betide." 

Shakspeaee. 

The matter contained in the present chapter was 
communicated to us, for the purpose of a permanent 
record, by Mrs. Myers, in the month of August, 1841. 
We have connected the personal incidents with the 
current history of the times to which they refer, and 
have often supplied dates. The facts are given, as 
nearly as possible, as Mrs. Myers related them, and 
rest upon her authority. That the reader may be able 
to form a correct judgment as to the amount of confi- 
dence which is to be placed in her stories, we here give 
endorsements which we are sure will be entirely satis- 
factory. 

Hon. Charles Miner, the venerable historian of Wy- 
oming, says: "Some years ago, when Professor Silli- 
man was in the Valley, he visited Mrs. Myers, and I 
had the good fortune to be present at the interview. 
Mrs. Myers has been, and yet is, one of the clearest 
chroniclers of the early scenes. Though the light 

" • Revisits not those orbs, that roll in vain 
To find its piercing ray,' 

the mental eye retains all its early power and lustre. 
Though now — 1845 — eighty-hoo years of age, it is a 
pleasure to sit by her side and hear 



134 WYOMIXG. 

"'Of most disastrous chances — hair-breadth 'scapes,' 

witnessed in her eventful youth." — Histor. Append., p. 
14, 16. 

Mr. Lossing, after visiting Toby's Eddy, says: 
" Thence I rode to the residence of Mr. Myers, a son 
of the venerable lady already alluded to, where I 
passed an interesting hour with the living chronicle of 
the wars of Wyoming. I found her sitting in an easy- 
chair, peeling apples, and her welcome was as cheerful 
and as cordial as she could have given to a cherished 
friend. Her memory was clear, and she related the 
incidents of her girlhood with a perspicuity which 
evinced remarkable mental vigor. Although blind- 
ness has shut out the beautiful, and deprived her of 
much enjoyment, yet pious resignation, added to natu- 
ral vivacity, makes her society extremely agreeable. 
1 1 am hke a withered stalk, whose flower hath fallen,' 
said she ; ' but,' she added, with a pleasant smile, ' the 
fragrance still lingers.' " — Field-Book, vol. i., p. 371. 

Colonel Stone says: "Near the site of the fort is 
the residence of Mrs. Myers, a widow lady of great 
age, but of clear mind and excellent memory, who is a 
survivor of the Wyoming invasion and the horrible 
scenes attending it. Mrs. Myers was the daughter of 
a Mr. Bennet, whose family was renowned in the do- 
mestic annals of Wyoming both for their patriotism 
and their courage." — History of Wyoming, p. 213. 

This is the lady to whose story we now invite the 
attention of the reader. 

Mrs. Myers's maiden name was Bennet. She was 
born in Scituate, Rhode Island, January 15, 1763. Her 
father's name was Thomas Bennet; her' mother's 
maiden name was Martha Jackson. The same year 



MRS. MYERS, Vdi> 

on which Martha Bennet was born, a settlement of 
Connecticut people was commenced in Wyoming, and 
Mr. Bennet rented a valuable property in Khode Isl- 
and, and removed to the Delaware, near to Stroucls- 
burg. He took quarters there with a company of 
people in a stone house, which was fortified and called 
a fort. Mr. Bennet's object was to settle in Wyoming, 
and accordingly he visited that famous locality, but, 
finding the Indians surly, he for the time .abandoned 
the project. 

The hostile savages kept close watch of the old cas- 
tle, and gave the occupants no little annoyance. The 
armed men there sometimes assumed the offensive, and 
hunted down small parties of Indians who were stroll- 
ing about the woods for purposes of murder and plun- 
der. On one of these occasions a brave old colored 
man took the lead, and, discovering an Indian camp, 
he fired upon the unsuspecting party, and laid one of 
them dead upon the ground. The rest of them fled 
with great precipitation. 

One instance of alarm at this fort terminated with- 
out bloodshed. In the dead of night a great stamping 
was heard around the fort, and it was presumed that a 
large company of mounted Indians had hemmed them 
in on every side. All hands within were soon broad 
awake and fully armed. Every man examined his 
priming, and was ready to make a deadly shot. They 
disposed their force as advantageously as possible, and 
sent a man to reconnoitre from the roof. It was soon 
found that the invading host was a company of loose 
horses in a nocturnal frolic. The alarm, of course, was 
turned into merriment. 

The next year Mr. Bennet removed to Goshen, New 
York, and rented a farm for six vears. He set his sons 



136 WYOMING. 

at work upon the farm, and took his gun, his axe, and 
hoe, and visited the much-coveted valley. Two at- 
tempts to effect a settlement in Wyoming were unsuc- 
cessful because of the hostility of the Indians, Mr. Ben- 
net losing all his labor, but, more fortunate than some 
of the early settlers, escaping with his life. 

In February, 1769, Mr. Bennet joined a company of 
New England people, forty in all, who built a fort on 
the west bank of the Susquehanna, which, in honor of 
the forty hardy adventurers, was called Forty Fort. 
This fort was designed as a place of security against 
the Indians, but, withal was to be a Yankee fortifica- 
tion, where, if need should require, the New England 
settlers would be able to take refuge from the Penna- 
mites. Mr. Bennet selected a situation on the flats 
about a mile above the fort, and, clearing off a portion 
of it, put in some seed. 

The following year, 1770, Mr. Bennet united with a 
new recruit of settlers, and paused at the mouth of the 
Lackawanna, where they built a block-house. Here 
they were all taken into custody by John Jennings, 
sheriff of Northampton County, Pennsylvania. As 
Sheriff Jennings was proceeding with his prisoners to 
Easton, "at Wyoming," probably Wilkesbarre, Mr. 
Bennet managed to escape, and returned to the east. 
This event took place in the summer, as in the month 
of September he was at the east. — See his affidavit in 
Pennsylvania Archives, vol. iv., p. 391. 

In September Mr. Bennet made arrangements to re- 
move his family to Wyoming, He had examined the 
ground ; he understood all the hazards of the enter- 
prise ; his courage was equal to the danger, and the 
question was settled. As to property, he had now but 
little to lose, for he had sold his farm in Rhode Island 



MRS. MYERS. . 137 

on personal security, and both the purchaser and se- 
curity had failed, and the whole was lost. What by 
industry and economy had been saved in Goshen, was 
now put into as compact a condition as possible, and 
loaded upon pack-horses, and the family commenced 
their march toward '• the land of promise." The coun- 
try now presented a striking contrast with the picture 
of Wyoming which was formed in the imaginations of 
Mr. Bennet's family. The grasshoppers had destroyed 
nearly all the vegetation, and the aspect was one of 
utter desolation. 

They wound their way over the mountains and 
through the vales until they came to Shehola, on the 
west side of the Delaware, and here they were hospi- 
tably entertained by a Quaker by the name of Wires. 
The next morning " Friend Wires" accompanied the 
miniature caravan as far as "the little meadows," where 
they took refreshments. Mrs. Bennet was boiling some 
chocolate over a fire made by the side of a log. She 
seemed unusually sad. "I don't know," said she, 
"what I am about to meet: I think something pretty 
heavy." It was not long before several men came up 
from Wyoming — one bleeding from a wound made on 
his head by a club — and reported that the Pennamites 
had taken possession of the fort, and were resolved 
upon driving off all the New England settlers. 

A consultation was now held upon the proper course 
to be pursued. Mr. Bennet was a man of cool courage, 
and he had made up his mind to try his fortunes upon 
the fertile soil of Wyoming, and he was not to be turn- 
ed aside from that purpose by any thing but stern in- 
vincible necessity. He was bent upon going on ; but 
what would he do with his family ? Mrs. Bennet, who 
was not easily intimidated, said, "Kit were not for the 



138 - WYOMING. 

children, I would go along." " Friend Wires" said, 
"Leave the children with me; I will take care of 
them." Stimulated by the courage of Mr. Bennet and 
his wife, the two men who had fled from the country 
resolved to return and try their luck again. 

Mr. Bennet was a great hunter, and the wild woods 
had more attractions for him than the old settled coun- 
try at the east : for himself, he could live any where in 
the Susquehanna Mountains by the aid of his rifle and 
hunting-knife. Mrs. Bennet was not so cool as her 
husband, but was equally firm in her purposes, and 
unterrined by danger. The company thought to find 
shelter for the time being with a Mr. Chapman, who 
had built a mill at Mill Creek, and who had been a 
neighbor and a friend of the Bennet family in Goshen. 

When Mr. and Mrs. Bennet reached Wyoming, they 
found the dispute between the New England and Penn- 
sylvania settlers had already ripened into open war. 
Captain Ogden, the Pennamite leader, had built a 
block-house, which was called a fort, at the mouth of 
Mill Creek, and had in his company Deputy Sheriff 
Jennings. Mr. Bennet was a peaceable man, and did 
not enter at once into the war, but took possession of 
a small log house he had previously built on the flats, 
just above Forty Fort. The grain he had put in, be- 
fore his return to Goshen in the spring, presented a 
most delightful prospect of an abundance of provisions 
for the following winter. 

The Yankees — that is, the fighters — invested the 
block-house, when Ogden proposed a parley. But no 
sooner had the besiegers entered the block-house to 
hold a conversation with the besieged, than Jennings 
served a writ on them, in the name of the Common- 
wealth of Pennsylvania. They were thirty-seven in 



MKS. MYERS. 139 

all ; and they were all taken to Easton, a distance of 
sixty miles, to jail. They obtained bail, and imme- 
diately returned. Again they were captured and sent 
off to jail, and again they were released on bail, and 
returned. A re-enforcement of 270 or 280 Yankees, 
under the command of Captain Durkee, came on, and 
built a fort where Wilkesbarre now stands, which they 
named, in honor of their leader, Fort Durkee. The 
Yankees now held the ground, and proceeded to the 
work of clearing farms and building. " The children" 
were brought on from Shehola, and Mr. Bennet was 
comfortably ensconced in his log cabin with his family. 

But a few months of quiet had passed before the 
Pennsylvanians came on with an augmented force, un- 
der the command of Ogden and Patterson, the latter 
bringing up the river in a boat a four-pounder. Og- 
den captured Captain Durkee, and put him in irons, 
and took possession of the fort. 

The Yankees were now pillaged, and, as far as pos- 
sible, driven from the country. The house and prem- 
ises generally belonging to Mr. Bennet were robbed ; 
grain, cattle, and every thing movable, which could be 
found, were taken from him, but he did not leave the 
valley. 

The Pennsylvanians now considered their victory 
complete. Ogden went to Philadelphia, leaving a few 
men in the fort. In the mean time, Captain Lazarus 
Stuart came on with forty brave fellows, and drove 
out the small guard from the fort, took possession of 
the cannon, and turned the tide once more in favor of 
the Yankees. Mr. Bennet now took up quarters in 
Fort Durkee, both as a measure of safety and of com- 
fort. Here Mrs. Bennet contracted an intimacy with 
Mrs. Manning and her daughters, who lived on the 



140 WYOMING. 

flats below the fort. Her husband, by education and 
profession, was a Friend, and yet, for some reason, he 
was called Captain Manning. The Manning family 
were Pennsylvanians, but were non-combatants, and, 
consequently, could contract friendly alliances with 
Yankee families. 

In the winter of 1771, Ogden again made his appear- 
ance, and invested Fort Durkee. His brother Nathan 
was killed by a shot from the fort, Mrs. Bennet wit- 
nessing the event. Stuart, finding himself unable to 
hold out against the superior numbers of the Pennsyl- 
vanians, managed to steal away, when the Pennamites 
took possession. 

Captain Ogden was terribly enraged by the death 
of his brother, and, seizing several prominent Yan- 
kees who happened to be in the fort, sent them to 
Philadelphia in irons, charged with being concerned 
in the murder. Mr. Bennet did not belong to Stuart's 
party of fighting men, but had taken shelter in the 
fort, with his family, when he considered their lives in 
imminent peril. Stuart, with his men, left the fort, 
and Mr. Bennet fell into Ogden's hands ; and he, with- 
out the slightest reason, excepting that he was in the 
fort at the time, was one of the suspected parties, and 
was obliged to endure the sufferings and disgrace of a 
suspected felon for five months in jail in Philadelphia. 

The explanation of this affair is to be found in the 
fact that an "inquisition" was held over the body of 
Nathan Ogden by Charles Stuart, January 21, 1771, 
by which it was found that said Ogden was shot by "a 
certain Lazarus Stuart." But on the back of the re- 
port of the inquest is found " a list of the rioters in the 
fort at "Wyoming when Nathan Ogden was killed." 
There are forty-seven of these "rioters," embracing 



MRS, MYERS. 141 

nearly all the respectable Yankee settlers then in the 
country. Thomas Bennet was among these so called 
11 rioters," and was taken up as a party to the murder. 
The same evil befell several other individuals, and 
might have befallen any of the number upon the list. 
— See Pennsylvania Archives, vol. iv., p. 384. 

Captain Manning had raised a fine crop of corn, 
which he had stored away in the garret of his log 
house. As he practiced upon the principles of non- 
resistance, he could neither be a good Pennamite nor 
a good Yankee, and the consequence was that he was 
often persecuted by both, as one or the other happen- 
ed to be in power. When Ogden took possession of 
the fort, some of " the boys" laid a plan to rob Captain 
Manning of his corn. The old Quaker had two buxom 
girls, one of whom, it was suspected, had a lover among 
"the Pennsylvania boys," and it was supposed that 
this fact would account for certain secret communica- 
tions which were made to the Mannings with regard 
to the movements of the Pennamites. By some means, 
no matter what, the family got wind of the plundering 
expedition, and were thrown into great perplexities. 
The old gentleman could not fight, and as to magis- 
trates and courts there were none to resort to. While 
he sat in the corner brooding over his helpless condi- 
tion, his two daughters, who were large, muscular, and 
courageous, hit upon a plan of defense ; and, upon 
opening it to the good old Friend, it seemed to look so 
little like war and bloodshed that he gave it the sanc- 
tion of his silence. The girls hung over the fire a large 
iron kettle, and filled it with water, which, when the 
assailants made their appearance before the door, was 
boiling hot. They then took an instrument, vulgarly 
called a squirt-gun, constructed of the barrel of an old 



142 WYOMING. 

musket, and through the chinks between the logs sent 
a jet of the boiling water into the face and eyes of 
the assailants. A few shots were enough to conquer 
the courage of the gallant band, who immediately 
took to their heels, and put themselves beyond the 
reach of the formidable engine so efficiently served. 
The assailants ran off frantic with pain, while the girls 
shook their sides with laughter; and the good old 
Quaker was scarcely suspected of a dereliction of prin- 
ciple, although no one doubted but that he enjoyed the 
battle-scene to a high degree. 

The perpetual annoyances to which this quiet man 
was subjected induced him to resolve upon taking a 
position a little farther from the centre of action. He 
consequently constructed a rude cabin upon Lacka- 
wanna Island — now called Scofleld's Island — near the 
head of the Valley. The cabin was built on each side 
of a large fallen tree, which lay high above the ground. 
The roof was made of peeled bark, and the tree con- 
stituted the ridge-pole. As the Mannings were about 
to ship their effects on board of a canoe, Mrs. Manning 
said to Mrs. Bennet, " Friend Bennet, come go with 
us to the island ; the boys shall have as much ground 
as they can work, and there is room enough in the 
cabin for us both ; thee shall take one side of the tree, 
and I will take the other." This was too good an offer 
to be despised. Fort Durkee was now in the hands 
of the Pennamites, and every few weeks they were 
running over the Valley, and giving the Yankees who 
had the courage to remain at their homes infinite trou- 
ble and vexation — not being particularly courteous 
even to the women, who had the assurance to stick to 
the stuff when their husbands were driven off or sent 
to prison. Under these circumstances, Mrs. Bennet 



MRS. MYERS. 143 

gladly accepted the generous offer of her friend ; and 
"the boys" also loaded their canoe, and the two fam- 
ilies pushed up the stream in company, and arranged 
their scanty catalogue of furniture and fixtures in the 
cabin. The Bennet boys had managed to save some 
grain, which they concealed at the head of the island. 

In the mean time Mr. Bennet had been discharged, 
and had returned worn out with his tedious imprison- 
ment, and badly discouraged. Captain Zebulon But- 
ler had come on with a new recruit of Yankees, and 
had shut up Ogden in the fort at Mill Creek, and cut 
off his supplies. This was in the spring of 1^71. Og- 
den found it necessary to communicate with the Penn- 
sylvania officials at Philadelphia, and, not willing to 
run the risk of sending a messenger, who would prob- 
ably fall into the hands of the Yankees, resolved upon 
an ingenious and daring enterprise. He made his 
clothes into a bundle, and fastened his hat on the top 
of it, then tied to it a small cord some twenty feet long. 
Taking up his bundle, he walked out into the current, 
and floated down on his back ahead of his hat and 
clothes. Of course, this enterprise was undertaken in 
the night. The Yankee sentinels saw the suspicious- 
looking object, and riddled the hat with bullets, but 
Ogden escaped unhurt, and soon reached Philadelphia. 
He dashed about, and soon raised a quantity of pro- 
visions and a new company of recruits, commanded by 
Captain John Dick. They stealthily entered the Val- 
ley, and eagerly awaited a favorable opportunity of 
throwing themselves, with their pack-horses loaded 
with provisions, into the fort. 

David Ogden, a brother of the captain, was one of 
the company, and learning that Thomas Bennet had 
returned from Philadelphia, and was with his family 



144 WYOMING. 

on Lackawanna Island, set off, with a small posse, in 
pursuit of Him. The capture or murder of Bennet 
would be a clever little adventure while they were 
waiting for a few hours for a favorable opportunity to 
elude the besiegers and get into the fort. Ogden knew 
the ground perfectly, and easily eluded observation 
until he found his way to the bank of the river over 
against the island. The Mannings had received the 
intelligence of the arrival of Captains Ogden and Dick 
in the neighborhood of the fort, and of David Ogden's 
intended visit to the island. The young Pennamite 
lover ha(J made occasional visits to the island, and 
nothing was kept from his lady friend that might be 
of any interest to the family. 

When Ogden and his friends showed themselves 
upon the beach, Mrs. Manning said, " David Ogden is 
coming over the river. Bennet, thee must clear out 
or be killed." Mr. Bennet replied, " I may as well die 
one way as another. I have been in jail until I am 
worn out ; they have robbed me of all I have in the 
world, and now let them kill me if they will." The 
women, however, roused him from his deep despond- 
ency by seizing him by the arms and shoving him out 
of the door just in time to make his escape. He hid 
himself in the thick undergrowth, while Ogden entered 
the cabin with the words, "Is Bennet here?" The 
answer was "No." Mrs. Bennet asked, "What do 
you want of him?" adding, "If you should find him, 
you would do no harm to him." "Where is he?" 
demanded Ogden, in an angry tone. Mrs. Manning 
replied, " He is not here." Ogden repeatedly swore 
that, if he could find him, he would shoot him. He 
went out and scoured the woods, but with no success. 
After informing Mrs. Manning that they intended to 



MRS. MYERS. 145 

enter the fort the next morning before daybreak, and 
after satisfying their hunger with the good things of 
the cabin, they departed, but did not immediately leave 
the island. Judging rightly that Mr. Bennet would 
soon come forth from his concealment, they hid them- 
selves within gunshot of the cabin. When it was sup- 
posed that Ogden and his men had crossed the main 
branch of the river, Mr. Bennet's sons went out and 
called him, and he came in. He sat down in a sad 
state of mind, and Martha seated herself in his lap, and 
flung her arms about his neck, and commenced caress- 
ing him, and condoling with him in view of his troub- 
les and dangers ; and the sympathy of the child in 
this instance was a substantial good, for it actually 
saved the life of the father. Ogden afterward said he 
intended to have shot Bennet, and should have done 
it but for the fear of killing the child. The judgment 
of charity is that it was not merely as a Yankee that 
Ogden had formed the deliberate purpose to take Mr. 
Bennet's life, but as an accessory to the death of his 
brother. But Mr. Bennet was in no way connected 
with that deed : its perpetrator afterward fell in the 
Indian battle, as several affidavits to be found in the 
archives of the state abundantly prove. 

On being informed of Captain Ogden's intended en- 
trance into the fort early the next morning, Mr. Ben- 
net, upon the pretense of going out to catch some eels, 
in the evening crossed the river, and went down to 
the Yankee lines, and communicated the information. 
When the Pennsylvanians made a rush upon the be- 
siegers just before day, they found them fully prepared 
for them. They lost their pack-horses and provisions. 
Several horses were shot down under their riders, and 
a number of the party were severely wounded. Cap- 

G 



1*16 WYOMING. 

tains Ogden and Dick succeeded in entering the fort 
with about twenty of their men, but they entered to 
find famine and despondency staring them in the face 
on every side, and to feel the mortification of having 
contributed a considerable stock of provisions to the 
Yankee force. 

Captain Dick, in his report, says : " The information 
of our coming was received by the Yankees through 
a letter falling into their hands, with which an Indian 
was sent by Captain Ogden." — See Miners History, p. 
131. This was Captain Dick's supposition. The fact 
is, that the credit of giving the information to Captain 
Butler is due to Thomas Bennet. 

The besieged Pennsylvanians, finding it impossible 
longer to hold out, capitulated, and left Wyoming. 
The Manning family had really been serviceable to 
the Yankee cause by their connection with the Ben- 
net family, to whom they owed a hearty good-will, and 
from whom they kept no secret which might be serv- 
iceable to them or their friends, and yet they were not 
in the confidence of the Yankee leaders, who resolved 
to drive them from the country. In pursuance of 
this resolution, on the day of the capitulation, Cap- 
tain Fuller, one of the Yankee officers, came to the 
island with a company of men, and coming up to the 
cabin, cried out, " What are you doing here, you 
Pennamites ? Clear out, or I'll burn your cabin over 
your heads." Captain Manning paused not to reason 
with the fierce Yankee, but immediately commenced 
packing his goods and loading them in a canoe. He 
left Wyoming never to return. He settled upon the 
west branch of the Susquehanna. 

Captain Fuller now said, "Bennet, you have suf- 
fered enough. Come down to Fort Lukins, and you 



MRS. MYERS. 147 

shall have as good a lot as there is there." Mr. Ben- 
net took his family down to the fort, but refused to 
take up his residence there. He fitted up an old horse- 
shed in Forty Fort, and made it a comfortable resi- 
dence for those times and for that country, in which 
his family lived for more than two years. During this 
period Mrs. Bennet presented her husband with an- 
other daughter — the late Mrs. Tuttle, of Kingston — and 
Martha began to develop extraordinary skill at house- 
work, and great power of endurance. 

The tide had now turned in favor of the New En- 
gland settlers, and large accessions were made to their 
numbers. Colonel Denison came in from Hartford, 
Connecticut, and took board with Mr. Bennet. He was 
married to Betsy Sill, this being the first match con- 
summated among the settlers. 

All this time the Indians were numerous, but very 
quiet. When Mr. Bennet was taken a prisoner to Phil- 
adelphia, some of them earnestly urged Mrs. Bennet to 
come with her children and live among them; evi- 
dently considering her life in danger from the Penna- 
mites, they wished to afford her shelter and protec- 
tion. 

We have seen that Mr. Bennet had been sent to 
Philadelphia to jail as one of " the rioters in the fort at 
Wyoming, January 21st, 1771, when Nathan Ogden 
was murdered," but had been discharged after an im- 
prisonment of five months. Another of these ' ' rioters, ' ' 
as they were called, was a man by the name of Wil- 
liam Speedy. He was somewhat in years, and was 
called " Old Speedy;" but his age could not abate the 
rigor of the Pennsylvania authorities, for they kept 
him in close confinement in Philadelphia for more than 
two years. How, where, or precisely when Speedy 



148 WYOMING. 

was captured and committed to jail we are not able to 
say, but his final examination must have taken place 
some time in the year 1775. Mrs. Myers says, when 
her sister Polly was two years old, and she was twelve, 
her mother was desired to go to Philadelphia as a wit- 
ness in favor of Speedy, who was to be tried for the 
murder of Nathan Ogden. This journey Mrs. Bennet 
performed alone on horseback, a distance of 120 miles, 
most of the way through the wilderness. When she 
reached Philadelphia she found that the court had ad- 
journed, and she then made a journey to Goshen and 
attended to some business. When the trial came on 
she was present, and her testimony cleared Speedy. 
He was wasted away to a mere skeleton. When he 
was discharged his joy and gratitude overleaped all 
bounds. He fell upon his knees before Mrs. Bennet, 
and almost worshiped her. "Get up, Speedy," said 
she ; "I have done no more than any one ought to do 
for a fellow-creature." He kissed her hand and bathed 
it with tears. It is refreshing to find that in these stern 
and almost barbarous times the law of kindness and 
feelings of gratitude had not become utterly erased 
from the human mind. 

Mrs. Bennet returned home after an absence of some 
weeks, during which Martha had been nurse, kitchen- 
maid, and governess. She brought water from a cold 
spring which boils up at the river's edge, below a 
high, steep bank. The child would scarcely ever con- 
sent to be left alone, and this made it necessary for 
Martha to carry her down to the spring, and bring her 
up on one arm, while she brought a pail of water with 
the other. She did the housework for the family, 
consisting of her father, three brothers, herself, and sis- 
ter, including baking and washing, during her moth- 



MRS. MYERS. 149 

er's absence. This, for a girl of her age, was no small 
task. She says, "It was a hard siege, but I had 
strength given me for the trial." 

Three years of quiet in the settlement had resulted 
in a high degree of prosperity. Plenty had crowned 
the labor of the settlers, and there had been a large 
accession to their numbers from the New England 
States, not merely consisting of young, hardy adven- 
turers, but the old and infirm came on, with their chil- 
dren and grandchildren, to spend the remnant of their 
days in <|the beautiful valley," and to lay their bones 
beneath its green sod. 

Mr. Bennet built a "double log house" on his land, 
which Mrs. Myers says "was then called a good house.'' 
" We removed," says she, "to our new house, raised 
good crops of grain, and had a fine stock of horses and 
cattle. We sold grain and bought articles of conven- 
ience from the Middletown boats. Father and broth- 
ers hunted beaver, bears, deer, raccoons, wild turkeys, 
etc., and we were in comfortable circumstances. Game 
was abundant at this period; we often saw wolves, 
bears, and deer swimming the river. One night a fe- 
rocious animal entered the yard, and so wounded one 
of the young cattle that it was found necessary to kill 
it. Father and brothers seized their guns when they 
heard the disturbance, but the savage beast bounded 
off just in time to save himself; they saw him escape, 
and, as near as they could judge from a mere glance,' 
it was a panther." 

t In December of this year (1775) the famous expe- 
dition of Colonel Plunkett took place. The New En- 
gland people prepared to give the colonel a warm re- 
ception at the head of the narrows, on both sides of 
the river. Mr. Bennet and his son Solomon were at 



150 WYOMING. 

tlic breastworks below Shawnee for two weeks, and 
Mrs. Bennet took down to them a horse-load of pro- 
visions at two different times. Men, old and young, 
boys and women, were all on hand to act their part in 
the defense of their homes. After an unsuccessful at- 
tempt to storm the Yankee works, the gallant colonel 
undertook to take his forces in a bateau across the 
river. The first boat-load, which, it is said, Colonel 
Plunkett commanded in person, was saluted by a brisk 
fire from the bushes by Lieutenant Stuart and his men, 
and one of the Pennamites was killed and several 
wounded. The gallant colonel lay down in the bottom 
of the boat, and ordered the men to push out into the 
river and go over the falls. The party in the boat 
and those left upon the west side of the river met at 
the foot of the rapids, and, upon consultation, con- 
cluded that it was so late in the season, and the ice was 
accumulating so fast, that " prudence would be the bet- 
ter part of valor," and the Pennamite army returned 
home with diminished numbers, no spoils, and no ad- 
dition to their reputation for either tact or courage. 

Colonel Plunkett and his band were sadly chagrined 
at their defeat. They had not the slightest doubts of 
success until they saw the impregnable position of the 
Yankees, and the spirit with which it was maintained. 
It is said that the wives of the officers bespoke, in ad- 
vance, a portion of the plunder : one wanted a feather 
bed, another a silk dress, and another a smart Yankee 
girl for a servant. These anticipations were all blast- 
ed, and the only reasons which the adventurous offi- 
cers had to give in justification of themselves was, that 
the wild Yankees had assembled in thousands, and fill- 
ed the woods on both sides of the river ; that they had 
availed themselves of the perpendicular ledge of rocks 



MKS. MYERS. 151 

from wliicli no force could dislodge them, and the river 
was rapidly filling up with ice. In all this the num- 
bers of the Yankee force were vastly exaggerated; 
and as for the rest, a sagacious commander ought to 
have understood the ground beforehand. 

The expedition of Colonel Plunkett terminates the 
first period of this unnatural war — a war which was 
not only a public calamity, but inflicted untold griefs 
upon persons and parties who pined and writhed un- 
der its consequences in private, who never troubled 
the public with their heart-crushing griefs. Young 
Lukins, son of the surveyor general, was at Sunbury 
at the time Plunkett set out for Wyoming, and he 
went with him merely for the romance of the thing. 
The poor fellow was killed. • • His death," says Mrs. 
Myers, "was much lamented by the settlers : his father 
was a very worthy man, and was much respected." 

Mr. Miner gives an affecting incident of the death 
of another young man. He forced his way near the 
Yankee line ; a Yankee marksman watched his op- 
portunity, and shot him down. After the battle he 
visited the spot, and found a hat-band which he judged 
had been cut by the ball from his rifle. Going down the 
river with lumber many years afterward, he received 
the hospitalities of a fine old gentleman. The conver- 
sation turned upon the former troubles in "Wyoming. 
" I lost a beloved son in the Plunkett invasion," said 
the father; and, producing the hat, said, "The bullet 
must have cut the band." The big tear stood in his 
eye while he held up the sad memento of his son's 
hapless fate. Of course, the scene was painful to the 
visitor, who declared that he never before realized the 
extent of the calamities of war. Ah ! and this was a 
war between brothers — a feud in a family. 



152 WYOMING. 

"Brother with brother waged unnatural strife ; 
Severed were all the charities of life : 
Two passions — virtues they assumed to be — 
Virtues they were — romantic loyalty, 
And stern, unyielding patriotism, possess'd 
Divided empire in the nation's breast ; 
As though two hearts might in one body reign, 
And urge conflicting streams from vein to vein." 

James Montgomery. 



REVOLUTIONARY WAR — TROUBLE WITH THE INDIANS. 

The expedition of Colonel Plunkett was the last ef- 
fort of the proprietary government of the Colony of 
Pennsylvania to remove the New England people from 
"Wyoming. The prospects of a rupture with the par- 
ent government now absolutely demanded union, and 
Congress passed resolutions recommending "that the 
contending parties immediately cease all hostilities, and 
avoid every appearance of force until the dispute could 
be legally decided." This wise recommendation had 
its influence upon the more considerate and prudent 
of both parties, while the common danger from the 
hostility of the savages suggested the folly and mad- 
ness of the longer continuance of the feud. There 
was no difference of feeling between the Pennamites 
and Yankees upon the question of American liberty 
and independence. 

On the 19th of April the battle of Lexington had- 
been fought, and on the 17th of June that of Bunker 
Hill. The interest of these momentous events was felt 
in the wilds of "Wyoming, as will be clearly seen by 
the records of certain public proceedings which are 
left upon the minutes of the town. Witness the fol- 
lowing : 

"At a meeting of y° proprietors and settlers of y e 



MRS. MYERS. 153 

town of Westmoreland, August 1, 1775, Mr. John Jen- 
kins was chosen moderator for y e work of y e day. 
Voted, that this town does now vote that they will 
strictly observe and follow y e rules and regulations of 
y e honorable Continental Congress, now sitting at Phil- 
adelphia. 

" Resolved by this town, That they are willing to make 
any accommodation with y e Pennsylvania party that 
shall conduce to y e best good of y e whole, not infring- 
ing on y e property of any person, and come in com- 
mon cause of liberty in y e defense of America, and 
that we will amicably give them y e offer of joining in 
y e proposals as soon as may be." 

On the 8th of August, the same year, a meeting was 
held, made up of both New England and Pennsylva- 
nia people, at which a patriotic resolution was passed, 
which concluded with these words : " And will unani- 
mously join our brethren in America in the common cause 
of defending our liberty." 

July 4th, 1776, the ever-memorable Declaration of 
American Independence was passed by the Continent- 
al Congress, and August 24th we find a town meeting 
"held in Westmoreland, Wilkesbarre District," at 
which "Colonel Z. Butler was chosen moderator," 
when it was voted "that it now becomes necessary 
for the inhabitants of this town to erect suitable forts 
as a defense against our common enemy." Forty Fort 
was ordered to be enlarged and strengthened. The 
people, old and young, made large contributions in la- 
bor to these necessary provisions for the common de- 
fense. 

By order of Congress, "two companies on the Con- 
tinental establishment" were raised "in the town of 
Westmoreland," to be "stationed in proper places for 

G2 



154 WYOMING. 

the defense of the inhabitants of said town and parts 
adjacent." Robert Durkee and Samuel Ransom were 
elected captains of these two companies. These com- 
panies consisted of something more than eighty men 
each, and they were made up of the strong young men 
of the settlement. At the critical period when our 
army had retreated across the Delaware, these compa- 
nies were "ordered to join General Washington with 
all possible expedition." This order left Wyoming in 
a most defenseless condition. Nothing but the stern 
necessities of the Revolutionary cause could be offered 
as the slightest palliation of the cruelty and injustice 
of this measure. These companies were raised ex- 
pressly for " the defense of the inhabitants" of West- 
moreland "and parts adjacent," but they were now 
called to leave their mothers, wives, and sisters ex- 
posed to the incursions of the merciless savages, with- 
out any thing like adequate means of defense. 

The Indians were evidently making preparations to 
identify themselves with the English cause. They all 
withdrew from Wyoming and went north. There 
were rumors of their intentions to cut off the settle- 
ment, which filled the minds of many with alarm. In 
the fall of 1777, Queen Esther came up the river with 
about a dozen Indians. She encamped at the mouth 
of Shoemaker's Creek, but a short distance from Mr. 
Bennet's residence. Mrs. Bennet, accompanied by 
Martha, visited the queen's camp and had considera- 
ble conversation with her. She asked her if it was 
true that the Indians were coming to kill us all. She 
shook her head and shed tears. Her head was grav, 
and she seemed to be old. She remained there about 
a fortnight. 

Mrs. Myers says, "Not long after Queen Esther left 



MRS. MYERS. 155 

the Valley we heard rumors of violence committed at 
the north by parties of Indians which strolled over the 
country. These reports created great alarm among 
the people of Wyoming. In June, 1778, about two 
weeks before the battle, we had seven head of horses 
stray away. The boys going in pursuit of them ask- 
ed me to go with them and pick cherries. We had 
not gone far into the woods before the boys saw some 
young hickories broken and twisted in a peculiar man- 
ner. One of them exclaimed, ' Oh, the Indians ! The 
Indians have taken away the horses.' This turned out 
to be the fact. Upon our return we learned that the 
Indians had been at Peter Harris's, above Scofield's. 
Soon after the two Hardings were killed, and now we, 
with the settlers generally, moved into the fort. It 
was crowded full." 

Colonel John Butler, a Tory leader, with an army 
of eight hundred, consisting of Indians, Tories, and 
British regulars, came down the river in boats and on 
rafts, and landed just above the head of the Valley, 
near Sutton's Mills. Colonel Denison, with a company 
of men, went up to reconnoitre, and found they had 
left the river and taken the mountain path. By this 
means he would avoid the danger of meeting the pat- 
riots in the Narrows, where his superior force would 
give him no advantage. The hostile army came into 
the Valley through a notch in the mountain opposite 
to Fort Wintermoot, a small fort which bore the name 
of a family of Tories, and was surrendered at once. A 
scouting party from Forty Fort was sent up to learn 
Butler's position and strength, and Finch was killed 
and Hewitt shot through the hand. This took place 
near where Shoemaker's Mills now stand, between 
the village of Wyoming and Carpenter's Notch. The 



156 WYOMING. 

next day a company went up and brought in Finch's 
body. After the battle the Indians referred to the 
circumstances, and said they could have killed the 
whole of both parties if they had chosen to do so. It 
is likely, however, this was a mere brag, and that real- 
ly/ear had something to do in the matter. 

THE BATTLE OF JULY 3, 1778. 

The settlers had made strong representations of 
their perilous condition to General Washington, and 
prayed that at least the companies raised in the settle- 
ment might be sent to their aid, but all was in vain. 
They now had no hope but in their own small re- 
sources and the protection of Providence. The old 
men and boys which were left armed themselves as 
well as they could, and resolved to make a brave de- 
fense against the savage Indians and the still more 
savage Tories. The little army numbered about three 
hundred men, and was organized in six companies. 
There were grandfathers and grandsons in this army, 
some of them entirely untrained, and most of them un- 
accustomed to military discipline, and to the arrange- 
ments and evolutions of an army. Mr. Miner says, 
11 There were about two hundred and thirty enrolled 
men, and seventy old people, boys, civil magistrates, 
and other volunteers." 

Colonel Zebulon Butler had obtained leave of ab- 
sence from the army, and came on in advance of the 
Wyoming companies, which were finally ordered to 
proceed to the scene of danger and alarm under Cap- 
tain Spaulding. The command, by universal consent, 
was accorded to Colonel Butler. On the 3d of July, 
an Indian on horseback was seen at the mouth of Shoe- 
maker's Creek, within sight of the fort. Upon finding 



MRS. MYERS. 157 

that lie was noticed he galloped off. Colonel John 
Butler now sent orders to the people in the fort to sur- 
render, which was promptly refused. 

The question was now mooted whether they should 
go out and fight the enemy on the plains above, or 
keep within the fort until re-enforcements should ar- 
rive. Captain Spaulding was coming on with an effi- 
cient, well-trained company, and Captain Franklin was 
on his way from Huntington with a company of volun- 
teers, and it was the opinion of Colonels Butler and 
Denison that it was best to delay until the recruits 
should arrive. Captains Lazarus Stuart and William 
M'Karrican headed the party which were for march- 
ing out of the fort at once and meeting the foe. A 
warm debate upon the question followed, which closed 
with high words. The belligerent captains, perceiv- 
ing that the majority was on their side, intimated that 
it was cowardice which influenced the views of the 
colonels, and that, if they should decline the command, 
they — the captains — would lead on the brave men who 
would volunteer to go out and flog Butler and his In- 
dians. These insulting insinuations roused the spirit 
of Colonels Butler and Denison, and they resolved to 
hazard all upon the chances of a battle. Colonel But- 
ler said, " We go into imminent danger ; but, my boys, 
I can go as far as any of you." Those who were fierce 
for fight seemed to be under the impression that the 
enemy was about to retreat, or that they would run as 
soon as they saw danger. They were anxious to meet 
and punish the Indians while they were within reach, 
and to chase them out of the country. This, as they 
might have known, and as the event proved, was all 
erroneous. In this case, as in many others, hot-head- 
ed and reckless men prevailed against sober counsels. 



158 WYOMING. 

The little army formed, and set out in the line of 
march in high spirits, with drums and fifes playing, 
and colors flying. Mr. Bennet was one of the "old 
men" who volunteered to defend the country. He, 
however, was so certain that the little army were about 
to be drawn into a snare and cut off, that he declared 
he would go with them no farther than "Tuttle's 
Creek" — the distance of one mile, or a little more — and 
he carried out his purpose. He left them at the creek, 
but his son Solomon went on. Soon after the little 
patriot army had left the fort, Major Durkee, Captain 
Ransom, and Lieutenant Pierce came up upon a gal- 
lop. They had left Captain Spaulding at Merwine's, 
about thirty miles from Wyoming, and hastened to 
the point of danger. Dashing into Mrs. Bennet's cabin, 
one sang out, "Can you give us a mouthful to eat?" 
They were furnished with a cold cut. Swallowing a 
few mouthfuls, they took a piece in their hand and 
pushed on. They left the fort never to look upon it 
again ; they were all slain in the battle. 

"Whence is this rage? What spirit, say, 
To battle hurries me away ? 
'Tis Fancy, in her fiery car, 
Transports me to the thickest war, 
Where giant Terror stalks around, 
With sullen joy surveys the ground. 
And, pointing to the ensanguined field, 
Shakes his dreadful Gorgon shield." 

Whartox. 

When they came to S wetland' s Hill, about one mile 
farther, it was reported that the invaders were flying, 
and they resolved to pursue them. They saw several 
straggling Indians, who, being fired upon, ran off as if 
terribly frightened. The enemy was lying in ambush, 
in three companies, disposed in the form of a crescent, 



MRS. MYERS. 159 

extending from Fort Wintermoot in a westerly direc- 
tion into the marsh which lies along at the foot of 
the mountain. Their advance line fell back upon the 
main body without much resistance. Their plan was 
well laid, and they had now succeeded in leading the 
little band into the trap which they had set for them. 
When the moment arrived to strike, the whole body 
of Indians and Tories opened a galling fire upon the 
patriot ranks, and cut down a large number. The 
noise of the musketry and the whistling of the bullets 
were terrible, but the wild yells of the savages were 
still more so. The men stood the first shock bravely, 
returning the fire with great spirit, but without much 
effect on the left wing, the enemy being covered by 
the steep slope which borders the marsh and a thick 
undergrowth. Colonel Denison, discovering that he 
was about to be outflanked and surrounded, ordered 
his wing to " fall back." This order was mistaken for 
an order to retreat, and confusion and a panic followed, 
which all the efforts of the officers failed to arrest. 
Every captain fell either at the head of his men, or 
deserted and alone. Colonels Butler and Denison rode 
along the line, and endeavored to rally their men un- 
til they were left nearly alone, and exposed to most 
imminent danger. But the day was lost, and every 
man made shift for himself as best he might. Some 
ran down the plains, some took to the mountain, but 
most fled in the direction of the river. Many were 
struck down with the tomahawk; and others were 
taken prisoners, and suffered a still more terrible fate. 
When Thomas Bennet returned to the fort, he paced 
the bank of the river back and forth in the greatest 
excitement. When the firing began, he listened until 
he noticed the reports scattering down the plain. He 



160 WYOMING. 

then hastened to his cabin, exclaiming, " Our boys are 
beat ; they will all be cut to pieces !" He was a man 
of strong nerves, but no stoic ; he walked back and 
forth, and seemed all but distracted. 

Colonels Butler and Denison, being mounted, came 
in first. A few of the fugitives came in in the course 
of the evening, but no news came to the Bennet fami- 
ly with regard to Solomon until the next day at about 
two o'clock, when he made his appearance, and gave an 
account of his escape. He was at the extreme right, in 
Captain Bidlack's company. When they came up to 
Fort Wintermoot it was in flames, and the hostile army 
lay just above. When the firing commenced he had 
twenty-two balls in his pouch, and he shot them all 
away but one. They drove the enemy about eighty 
rods, the dead, British regulars and Indians, lying 
strewed quite thick upon the ground. He used his 
own rifle, which would prime itself, and required no 
ramming down. He loaded quick, and took fair aim, 
and his man fell. When it was discovered that the 
Indians had turned Colonel Denison's left flank, and 
that our men were fl} T ing, it was now evident that the 
day was lost ; then every man shifted for himself. Sol- 
omon Bennet steered his course toward the river ; he 
gained the river bank against Monocasy Island, but a 
little in advance of several Indians who were in pur- 
suit of him. He plunged into the river, and swam upon 
his back ; the Indians fired upon him repeatedly, but, 
accurately watching their motions, he was always able 
to avoid the ball by dropping his head under the wa- 
ter at the moment they fired. The Indians seemed to 
enjoy the sport, indulging in a hearty laugh whenever 
young Bennet arose after dodging the ball. He reach- 
ed the island, not knowing whether he was safe there 



MRS. MYERS. 161 

from the merciless foe. He cautiously crept across the 
island, and then swam to the eastern shore. He was 
nearly exhausted, and, crawling up the bank on his 
hands and knees, he saw a naked man in the bushes, 
whom he recognized as Matthias Hollenback — the late 
Judge Hollenback, of Wilkesbarre. Bennet had cross- 
ed the river in his shirt and pants, and now he divided 
his scanty supply of clothes with his friend, loaning 
him one of his two garments, while he wore the other. 
Thus furnished, they found their way to the fort at 
Wilkesbarre. 

When it was ascertained that arrangements were in 
progress for a capitulation, Solomon Bennet said, "I 
will never give myself up to an Indian." Mrs. Bennet 
then demanded, " What will you do, then ?" and added, 
" You must clear out immediately." Mr. Bennet then 
expressed some doubts as to his fate, when Mrs. Bennet 
answered, " You must go too." Andrew, a lad about 
eleven years old, began to cry when the mother said, 
with emphasis, " And you must go too, for if we are 
killed you can do us no good." Accordingly, all three 
left for Stroudsburg. These are the simple facts ; but 
the bitter grief which attended these trying circum- 
stances has never been written. There were many 
such sad partings on that terrible day, and some much 
more aggravated. The depth of sorrow which filled 
the hearts of husbands and wives, parents and children, 
brothers and sisters, on that day and the day before, 
will only be brought to light by the revelations of the 
last Judgment. The parting of the Bennet family was 
brief, but the separation was long. 

Colonel Butler left the fort upon the day of the bat- 
tle, but not until he and Colonel Denison had agreed 
upon articles of capitulation, which were drawn up in 




162 WYOMING. 

Mrs. Bonnet's cabin. The ta- 
ble upon which those articles 
were written was preserved 
by Mrs. Myers until the day 
of her death, and is still in 
possession of the family. Mrs. 
Myers says, "Dr. Gustin went 
up to Fort Wintermoot with a white flag three times 
before the articles were fully agreed upon. They stip- 
ulated that the fort should be given up, but the inhab- 
itants were not to be molested in their persons or prop- 
erty. The day but one after the battle, I think, Indian 
Butler, as he was called, marched his Indians into the 
fort in regular order, and, after drilling them a little, 
dismissed them. They ran about among the inhabit- 
ants, earnestly looking to see how they were situated, 
but for that day molested no one. Butler was a large, 
corpulent man, with a fair skin. I looked at him with 
astonishment, wondering how such a fine-looking man 
could come with the Indians to kill us. 

" The next day the Indians began to plunder the peo- 
ple. Colonel Denison remained in our cabin, but when 
Butler came into the fort he sent for him, and they sat 
down by the table and entered into conversation. 
Colonel Denison remonstrated with him upon the sub- 
ject of the aggressions of the Indians, urging that it 
was a breach of a most solemn engagement, such as 
are respected among all nations. Butler said, ' My 
men shall not molest the people. I will put a stop to 
it' But when he went out of the fort the Indians re- 
sumed their plundering. Colonel Denison again sent 
for Butler, and again he came into our room and re- 
peated his promises that it should cease. The In- 
dians were quiet until the next day about two o'clock. 



MKS. MYEKS. 163 

A large party then came into the fort, some of them 
drunk. Doctor Gustin wrestled and talked French 
with them. This was designed to divert them, but 
they again resumed their plundering. Toward nio-ht 
Butler came in again, and Colonel Denison had an- 
other conversation with him, earnestly chiding him for 
the breach of a solemn treaty. Butler finally waved 
his hand and said, ' To tell you the truth, I can do 
nothing with them.' Colonel Denison chid him se- 
verely, but received the same answer, ' I can do noth- 
ing with them.' The colonel then vehemently urged 
the articles of capitulation, and that they had not sup- 
posed it possible for him to allow so wicked a breach 
of faith on the part of his men. His final answer was 
as before, ' I tell you, sir, I can do nothing with them.' 
He then arose and left, and we saw no more of him. 
In fact, he left us to the tender mercies of the savages, 
without any regard to the articles which he had signed 
with his own hand. 

"The Indians were now worse than ever. They 
came into our house, and a stout Indian claimed Colo- 
nel Denison's hunting-shirt, a very nice one, made of 
fine forty linen, with a double cape, fringed around the 
cape and wrists. The colonel objected ; but, upon the 
Indian raising his tomahawk, and mother begging him 
to give it up, he consented. While she was unbutton- 
ing the wristbands the colonel stepped back, and Polly 
Thornton, who sat by me, received a package of money 
from his pocket. It was the town money, in Conti- 
nental bills ; it afterward did the needy much good. 
The Indian, observing that something passed back to 
us, sang out, 'What's that?' 'You are taking the 
man's shirt,' replied mother. The hunting-shirt ob- 
tained, the Indian retired. Soon after another came 



164 WYOMING. 

in and demanded the colonel's new beaver hat. As 
in the former case, he objected; but, as in that instance, 
the lifted tomahawk and mother's entreaties brought 
him to terms. 

" Our great chest, now in my possession, contained 
our valuable clothing. It was now robbed of all its 
contents. An Indian took mother's bonnet from her 
head and her shawl from her shoulders. She then 
covered her head with an old straw hat which was 
lying upon the ground. Captain Henry, an old In- 
dian who had lived upon terms of intimacy with our 
family, and who was a prisoner in the fort when it 
was given up, came in with father's fine broadcloth 
coat on, which had been taken from the chest. He 
demanded, 'Where old Bennet?' Mother replied, 
'Gone through the swamp to Stroudsburg.' 'Ah!' 
says he, stroking his sleeve, 'me old Bennet now. 
Where Solomon, that good marksman?' 'Gone to 
Stroudsburg.' ' Where Andrew, the little boy ?' The 
same answer was given as before." 

One circumstance Mrs. Myers — probably from mo- 
tives of delicacy — does not relate, which has been com- 
municated by another eye-witness. From the history 
thus far, it will be seen that Mrs. Bennet was a woman 
of great spirit, and an unusual amount of physical 
strength even for those times. She could stand being 
robbed by an Indian with a tomahawk in his hand, 
but she could not endure to have her clothing pulled 
from her person by an Indian icoman. A filthy squaw 
undertook forcibly to deprive her of one of her gar- 
ments, when the spirit of the Yankee woman, even by 
all the fearful circumstances by which she was sur- 
rounded, could not be held down. She drew her 
clenched hand, and gave the old hag a blow in the 



MKS. MYEKS. 165 

face which felled her to the ground. The squaw, re- 
covering, grappled the pale-faced woman, but was soon 
worsted in the struggle. It was an anxious moment 
with the friends of Mrs. Bennet who were present. 
"Would she be tomahawked on the spot ? was the ques- 
tion revolved in every mind. That question was soon 
settled by a roar of laughter from the Indians, one of 
them patting her on the back with the complimenta- 
ry words, " Good squaw." The vanquished old thief 
then sneaked off, woefully crestfallen. The mascu- 
line nerve of the women of those times seems to have 
been given them for the occasion, or which, perhaps, 
is a more truthful theory, were developed by the 
times. Circumstances originate characters. By a law 
of Providence, human nature adjusts itself to the cir- 
cumstances by which it is surrounded. But let us pro- 
ceed a little farther with Mrs. Myers's story in her own 
language. 

" They took our feather beds, and, ripping open the 
ticks, flung out the feathers, and crammed in their 
plunder, consisting mostly of fine clothing, and, throw- 
ing them over their horses, went off. A squaw came 
riding up with ribbons stringing from her head over 
her horse's tail. Some of the squaws would have on 
two or three bonnets, generally back side before. One 
rode off astride of mother's side-saddle, that, too, wrong 
end foremost, and mother's scarlet cloak hanging be- 
fore her, being tied at the back of her neck. We could 
not help laughing at the ridiculous figure she cut, in 
spite of the deep trouble which then all but over- 
whelmed us all. 

" Few of the Tories came into the fort ; but a 
young man by the name of Parshal Terry, who was 
in the battle under Butler, came in painted, and called 



166 WYOMING. 

to see his friends at their cabin. His brother had 
been in the battle on onr side. He was shy, but was 
recognized. 

" Indians came in who appeared to be friendly; they 
painted us, and tied white bands around our heads, as 
they said, that we might be known as prisoners of war, 
and not be in danger of being killed by strange In- 
dians." 

Something more than a week after the battle the 
houses throughout the settlement were fired. The 
smoke arose from all quarters at the same time. Soon 
after this, the widows of Timothy Pierce and John 
Murphy — their maiden name was Gore — with Ellis 
and Hannah Pierce — maiden ladies — requested Mrs. 
Bennet to visit the battle-ground with them, to see if 
they could identify the bodies of Pierce and Murphy. 
They found the bodies of the slain broiling in the hot 
sun, but so changed that they could not distinguish 
one from another. The husbands of the two young 
widows, and three brothers — Silas, Asa, and George 
Gore — lay upon the ensanguined field, but the heart- 
broken visitors had not even the poor satisfaction of 
identifying their remains. The company returned to 
the fort sick at heart, to have their imaginations haunt- 
ed for long 3'ears with the awful spectacle which they 
had witnessed, of the mangled and wasting bodies of 
their neighbors, brothers, and husbands. 

General Washington had projected an expedition 
into the Indian country effectually to chastise the sav- 
ages, and to make an end of their incursions upon the 
frontier settlements. The people in the fort, not fully 
appreciating the time which would be necessary to pre- 
pare for such an expedition, entertained hopes of the 
arrival of the army of relief daily, and so remained 



MRS. MYERS. 167 

there about two weeks. At the expiration of this pe- 
riod, Colonel Denison was making arrangements to go 
down the river in a canoe to bring up his family. 
Martha Bennet had lost all her best clothes, and found 
that it was necessary for her soon to make a move of 
some sort to replenish her exhausted wardrobe. She 
finally ventured to sob out, " If I could leave mother 
and sister, I would go with Colonel Denison down to 
Sunbury, to Captain Martin's, and work, and get me 
some clothes." Esquire Pierce, coming up, inquired 
into the cause of Martha's grief. Upon learning the 
facts, he addressed her in his quaint style : "Go along, 
gal, go along, and I'll take care of mother and child." 
She accordingly took passage in Colonel Denison's ca- 
noe, and arrived at Sunbury the next day. She found 
a company of between thirty and forty persons from 
the Valley quartered in a house. One of the company 
was Desdemona Marshall, the late Mrs. Wadsworth, 
of Huntington. Miss Bennet was received with great 
cordiality, and invited to remain with them, and be 
one of the household. 

This family of fugitives, united by common suffer- 
ings and common dangers, was not to remain long to- 
gether. There was a rumor of hostile Indians on the 
west branch of the Susquehanna, and a woman and a 
boy were tomahawked and scalped in the immediate 
neighborhood. Miss Bennet and others went to see 
them while they were yet alive. It was soon rumored 
that the Indians and Tories had again visited Wyo- 
ming, and all the settlers had left. A company com- 
menced making preparations to go across the mount- 
ains to Stroudsburg, and Miss Bennet accepted an in- 
vitation to go with them. All the means of convey- 
ance they had was a small cart drawn by a yoke of 



168 WYOMING. 

steers. There were some small children in the com- 
pany, who were allowed to ride when they were tired, 
but as for the rest they all walked. Their journey 
was of the distance of about seventy -five miles, and 
nearly all the way through the wilderness, and cross- 
ing the high ridges which he between the Susque- 
hanna and the Delaware. The Misses Bennet and 
Marshall, with three other girls, outstripped the com- 
pany, and saw nothing of them during the day. They 
became hungry, and turned aside and picked berries 
to satisfy the demands of nature. The path was ex- 
ceedingly rough, and Miss Bennet's shoes gave out 
in consequence of the constant contact with stubs and 
sharp stones, and her feet were so injured as to leave 
blood behind them. " But," says she, " we made our- 
selves as happy as possible, amusing ourselves with 
singing songs and telling stories." They were con- 
stantly annoyed with fears of " the Indians," knowing 
that those dreadful scourges of the country might 
chance to cross their path at any moment. As the 
darkness of night began to approach, they met two 
men whom they first supposed to be Indians ; but, per- 
ceiving them to be white men, they sung out, " How 
far is it to a house?" The answer was as cheering as 
it was cordial. " Two miles; be of good courage ; we 
are hunting for some cows, and will soon be in." The 
young pedestrians soon arrived, and found the house 
guarded by several men. The family had gone, and 
most of the goods were removed. They made a sup- 
per of bread and milk, and lay down upon sacking 
bottoms from which the beds had been removed. 
They waited for the arrival of the company with great 
anxiety until about two o'clock in the morning, when, 
to their great joy, they arrived in safety. 



MRS. MYERS. 169 

The morning's light came, and our travelers were 
early on their way. They passed through Easton, 
where they bought provisions. That day " the girls" 
kept within sight of their companions in travel. The 
third day, at night, they arrived at Stroudsburg. Miss 
Bennet there met her mother and sister, but was great- 
ly disappointed in not finding her father and brothers. 
Her brother Solomon had been to Middletown in pur- 
suit of her, had returned that day, and set out imme- 
diately, with Colonel Butler and Captain Spaulding, 
for Wyoming. Mrs. Myers says, in relation to the 
events of that day, " One disappointment followed an- 
other in quick succession, and I seemed almost left 
without hope." 

"Come, Disappointment, come ! 

Though from Hope's summit hurled, 
Still, rigid nurse, thou art forgiven, 
For thou, severe, wert sent from heaven 
To wean me from the world ; 
To turn my eye 
From vanity, 
And point to scenes of bliss that never, never die." 

Henry Kirke White. 

Soon after Martha Bennet left the fort, Indians came 
in, who seemed any thing but friendly and trustwor- 
thy. " More Indians come," said they, " right away ; 
eat Yankees up." This tale was told undoubtedly to 
intimidate those of the settlers who still remained, and 
to frighten them away. Whatever was thought of it, 
the fact that parties of those hated, murderous, plun- 
dering wretches kept prowling about was a sufficient 
reason for the last white person to quit the Valley. 
Mrs. Bennet, with her child, came over the mountain 
in company with Major Pierce and his family, perhaps 
the last of the settlers who were left. The child, afl- 

II 



170 WYOMING. 

erward Mrs. Tuttle, was then five years old, and she 
always recollected that dreadful journey. At that ten- 
der age she had to walk nearly the whole distance on 
foot, having no beasts of burden in the company. She 
remembered camping out, or rather lying on the 
ground, under the open heavens, in what has ever 
since been called " The Shades of Death." Hungry 
and weary, they laid themselves down upon the bare 
ground, and invoked oblivious sleep. Mrs. Bennet 
drew out a portion of her skirt, and told little Polly to 
he on it as close to her as possible. Mrs. Tuttle lived 
to a great age, and we learned these facts from her 
mouth not long before her death. 

It may be a matter of wonder how so many of the 
settlers subsisted in the fort for more than two weeks, 
after having been robbed of every thing by the In- 
dians. This mystery is explained by a curious fact. 
There was a capacious cellar under a building in the 
fort where a considerable quantity of provisions was 
stored. When the Indians commenced the work of 
plundering, as a company of them approached this 
place of deposit, some witty individual sang out, with 
apparent concern, " Small-pox ! small -pox !" The old 
brave who was on the lead grunted out "Oh!" and 
sheered off, the others following him ; they jabbered in 
Indian, and looked back at the reputed " pock-house" 
with no little consternation. After this the Indians 
kept at a distance from the place, invariably going 
round it, and casting at it one of those significant In- 
dian glances so indicative of a horror of being caught 
in some trap. The "wit" of our brave fathers and 
mothers did not always " come afterward," but often 
"hit the nail on the head," and stood them in stead 
when all other resources were utterly exhausted. This 



MRS. MYERS. 17 L 

happy hit probably saved the lives of many of the 
settlers ; for " humane" as the Tory leaders boasted of 
being, and " magnanimous" as some authorities con- 
tend that the "Ked Man" is, not a hoof, nor a kernel, 
nor a morsel of bread or meat which the cruel invad- 
ers could either seize and carry away, or consume by 
fire, was left to the people to keep them from perish- 
ing with hunger. 

Soon after the arrival of Major Pierce's company of 
fugitives, Mrs. Bennet heard a young Philadelphia law- 
yer uttering terrible threats against the Yankees, de- 
claring that he would go to Wyoming with a company, 
■and a Yankee should not set foot upon the ground. 
She immediately made it her business to communicate 
the matter to Colonel Butler. The very next day Col- 
onel Butler and Captain Spaulding mustered their men 
and set off for Wyoming, preferring the hazard of 
meeting the Indians to that of allowing the Pennamites 
to take possession of the country. 

The company saw no Indians, but every where met 
the sad traces of their ravages. The houses of the set- 
tlement were nearly all reduced to ashes, the crops 
were destroyed, and the horses, cattle, etc., were either 
killed or driven off. The beautiful and fruitful vale, 
which in the spring presented so charming a prospect 
of a rich harvest, was now the very picture of deso- 
lation. Colonel Butler and his company repaired to 
the battle-field, and gathered up the remains of those 
who were slain on the fatal 3d of July, and buried 
them in a common grave, where the monument now 
stands. 

Mrs. Bennet and her daughters did not remain long 
at Stroudsburg, but went to Goshen, where they took 
up quarters with a Captain John Bull, " an old gray- 



172 WYOMING. 

headed man with a large family.' 1 Mrs. Bennet "did 
two days' work in one" at the spinning-wheel, while 
Martha "did housework for fifty cents a week." 
They made shirts and pants, and sent them to Wyo- 
ming to Mr. Bennet and the boys, who remained there, 
and worked their land and enlarged their clearing. 
The Revolutionary war was now in full blast; there 
were no manufactories in the country, and foreign 
goods were extremely scarce and dear. Mrs. Myers 
says that at this period they gave "fifty cents a yard 
for calico." 

Early in the spring Mrs. Bennet went to " Bethle- 
hem, ten miles below Litchfield," to her brother Sam- 
uel Jackson's. Captain Bull sent his son with a horse 
part of the way, and they " rode by turns." They re- 
mained among their friends " in Litchfield, ISTobletown, 
and Canaan until the next spring." They frequently 
received intelligence from Wyoming, and finally be- 
gan to meditate returning. In the fall Solomon Ben- 
net came on with a horse to bring his mother and two 
sisters back to their loved and much-desired Wyoming- 
home. Mrs. Bennet and her youngest daughter rode 
upon the horse, attended by Solomon, while Martha 
took passage in a sloop from Canaan to Newburg. 
They met at the latter place, and, passing Washing- 
ton's camp, went on to Goshen. Here they purchased 
a yoke of oxen and a cart, and, loading upon this 
homely vehicle the fruits of Mrs. Bennet's and Mar- 
tha's earnings, they commenced their slow march. 
They came by Stroudsburg, and thence through the 
road made by Sullivan's army ; and, finally, Mr. Ben- 
net's family, after more than two years' separation, 
were together again. 

Mr. Bennet had fitted up " one of Sullivan's old bar- 



MKS. MYERS. 173 

racks, just opposite to Wilkesbarre, for a house." 
They had an abundance of corn and garden vegeta- 
bles, but no flour, as there was no grist-mill in the Val- 
ley. The only resort of the settlers, for the time, was 
to a hominy block. This was a block cut from the 
trunk of a large tree, hollowed, and set on end. The 
corn was put in the hollow, and bruised with a pestle 
hung upon a spring pole. Such was the demand for 
hominy that this rude mill was kept going day and 
night. The girls often worked the mill, and not un- 
frequently were obliged to wait long for their turn. 
There were now about thirty families in the settle- 
ment. 

General Sullivan had left several companies in the 
garrison at Wilkesbarre, under the command of Colo- 
nel Moore. Among the officers were Captain Schott 
and Lieutenant Lawrence Myers, who married and 
settled in the country. The former married Naomi 
Sill, and the latter Sarah Gore. A store for the sup- 
ply of the garrison was provided, and was under the 
directions of the commissary, William Stuart. He had 
flour, and, although none could be obtained from him 
for the labor of the men, yet Miss Bennet, being skillful 
in fine knitting and working lace, could procure it for 
her work. By knitting a pair of stockings and a pair 
of gloves for the commissary, and working a lace cap 
and some silk lace to trim a cloak for his lady, she 
procured one hundred pounds of flour. All this work 
she did "nights by pine-light, after spinning two six- 
teen-knotted skeins of flax." Besides all this, she " did 
much about house, and often had to work the hominy 
block." Her "rule was to go to bed at one or two 
o'clock in the morning." She says, "We were con- 
stantly afraid of the Indians, and the well-known cry 



174 WYOMING. 

of the sentinels, ' All's well !' which broke upon the 
stillness of the night during my nightly toils, was to 
me a most welcome and pleasant sound." She notices 
a little incident, small in itself, but significant and fruit- 
ful in its results. She says, " A company of us girls 
would often go out and gather five-finger-leaf for tea, 
and while on these little excursions we were guarded 
by the soldiers." Ah ! indeed ! " Guarded !" yes, and 
loved and wooed "by the soldiers," as the facts after- 
ward proved. 

Tea was proscribed because it was taxed by the Brit- 
ish government, and could not easily be obtained, and 
when it could be had it was drunk stealthily. The 
people generally sought the best substitute which the 
soil afforded, and this, at best, was poor enough. Con- 
gress was obliged, for purposes of revenue, to lay a tax 
on many of the conveniences of life. Those who en- 
joyed the luxury of glass lights in their houses had to 
pay a tax on every pane. Mrs. Myers says that Lieu- 
tenant Van Horn, a Pennamite, for whom she certainly 
had no great respect, came around taking account of 
the windows which were in the hastily -built cabins of 
the settlers. Addressing her, he demanded, "How 
many lights have you in your house?" "Oh, plenty 
of lights," was the answer. "Look all around, and 
you will see for yourself," at the same time pointing 
to the chinks between the logs. The functionary be- 
coming satisfied, from the evidence afforded by his 
own eyes, that there was not a pane of glass in the old 
barrack, soon took his leave. 

Miss Martha, at this period, was one of the most ef- 
ficient agents in supplying the necessaries of life to 
the family. We have seen that she procured flour 
for her work where it could not be obtained by the 



MBS. MYERS. 175 

settlers "for either love or money." She procured 
meat in the same way. She knit a lace cap for an old 
Mrs. M'Clure, and procured of her three pigs, for which 
she had refused the cash. These animals grew, and 
turned to most excellent account. 

Things had been so managed that most of the Penn- 
amites belonged to the garrison ; and some of the of- 
ficers being of this class, the Yankee settlers were often 
subjected to petty annoyances. Mr. Bennet could 
procure no land to work under cover of the fort, and 
finally resolved to make an attempt to work his own 
land above Forty Fort. On the 27th of March, 1780, 
he commenced plowing within " the Ox-bow," a bend 
in the creek on the flats, between Elijah Shoemaker's 
and the river. His team consisted of a yoke of oxen 
and a horse. The boy Andrew rode upon the horse. 
When they came to the bend in the creek the horse 
seemed shy. Mr. Bennet said, " I fear all is not right. 
I think we will only go around once more." When 
they came again to the same point, four Indians sprung 
from the bushes, and one seized Mr. Bennet, and an- 
other took Andrew from the horse. The Indians hur- 
ried off their prisoners, and soon came up with two 
more Indians, having Lebbeus Hammond as a prisoner. 
Mr. Bennet exclaimed, "Hammond, are you here?" 
With downcast look, Hammond answered " Yes." An 
Indian mired Hammond's horse in the marsh and left 
him. They then took the old war-path over the 
mountain. 

When Mr. Bennet left home, he told his wife that 
if he did not return by sundown she might conclude 
some harm had befallen him. Soon after sundown 
Mrs. Bennet gave the information at the fort that her 
husband and son had not returned, and desired that a 



176 WYOMING. 

party might be sent out in search of them. Mr. Ham- 
mond's wife was also alarmed on account of his failing 
to return as expected. Not knowing but that a large 
party of Indians had made a descent upon the Valley, 
it was thought not to be prudent to go out that night. 
They fired the alarm-gun, and waited till morning. A 
company then went out, and found Mr. Bennet's oxen 
and horse trembling with the cold, the weather having 
changed during the night. They followed on the track 
of the Indians to the top of the mountain, and then re- 
turned. 

Mrs. Bennet and her remaining children were now 
left in a state of most cruel suspense for the space of 
six or seven days. Any supposition which contained 
the elements of probability was terrible almost beyond 
endurance. There were a few things possible between 
the worst presumption — and that was that the prison- 
ers would be cruelly tortured to death — and the most 
favorable, which was, that they would be taken to 
Canada. Mr. Bennet was somewhat in years, and was 
afflicted with rheumatism, and it was most probable 
that he would break down under the hardships of his 
captivity, and fall a victim to savage cruelty. The 
barbarous tortures inflicted by the savages upon the 
helpless victims of their fiendish orgies were all like 
household words with Mrs. Bennet and her children. 
Their midnight dreams were occupied with the fearful 
tragedy of a cold-blooded massacre by the instrument- 
ality of the tomahawk, the scalping-knife, and blazing 
pine knots. In their imaginations, the aged sire and 
his boy were often seen suffering the most excruciating 
tortures for hours, and then their bodies left to be de- 
voured by wild beasts. All this was highly probable, 
and all the reasonings about it based on facts, which 



MRS. MYERS. 177 

tlie settlers in the Valley of Wyoming had more per- 
fect knowledge of than any other people upon earth. 

In the midst of the gloom and despondency of the 
families of Mr. Bennet and Mr. Hammond, and the 
general impression that the prisoners would never re- 
turn, three emaciated, limping, reeling figures were 
seen directing their course toward the fort at Wilkes- 
barre. Who could they be ? As they came near, it 
was discovered that they were " the Bennets and Ham- 
mond." Their appearance almost seemed like a resur- 
rection from the dead. The mystery was soon ex- 
plained; they had arisen upon their captors at Me- 
shoppen, and cut them to pieces, and had found their 
way back to the embraces of their families and friends. 
Their feet had been badly frozen, and the consequences 
were most painful. When the excitement of their 
flight was over, they scarcely had a spark of life left. 
Good nursing soon restored their physical strength, 
and Mr. Hammond and Andrew Bennet were able to 
get about in a few weeks ; but Mr. Bennet's feet were 
so dreadfully injured by the frost that several of his 
toes came off at the first joint, and he was obliged to 
walk with crutches for more than a year, during most 
of which time he suffered indescribably, and required 
much attention. We shall give a particular account 
of the rising and escape of the Bennets and Hammond 
in a chapter by itself. 

Mrs. Myers says: "We remained under cover of the 
fort another year. Solomon married the widow Up- 
son: her maiden name was Stevens. Her husband 
was killed by the Indians. Upson, with another man 
and a boy, were in the woods making sugar. When 
the boy was out gathering sap, he saw the Indians 
come up slyly to the camp, and pour boiling sap into 

H2 



178 WYOMING. 

Upson's mouth while he lay fast asleep on his back. 
The other man they tomahawked, and made a prisoner 
of the boy. 

In the spring of 1781, Mr. Bennet, his son Solomon, 
and old Mr. Stevens each built a small log house on 
the flats near where Mr. Bennet's house stood before 
the battle. They raised fine crops, and had abundance 
until another calamity overtook them. 

THE ICE FLOOD. 

" See how the noble river's swelling tide, 
Augmented by the mountain's melting snows, 
Breaks from its banks, and o'er the region flows." 

Blackman. 

La March, 1784, the spring of "the hard winter," a 
heavy rain suddenly melted the vast burden of snow 
upon the mountains and plains, broke up the strong 
ice in the river, and formed it into dams in the nar- 
rows and at the head of the islands. At about two 
o'clock P.M., Colonel Denison and Esquire Myers came 
riding down the river on horseback. Seeing the three 
families apparently unapprised of their danger, one of 
them cried out, "Bennet, what are you about? The 
ice will soon be upon you in mountains." Mrs. Ben- 
net had previously been urging her husband to take 
the family to the high bank across the creek. He, 
however, relied securely upon the tradition communi- 
cated to him from " the oldest Indians," that " the wa- 
ter had never been over these flats." 

After the warning given by Colonel Denison and 
Esquire Myers, however, the old gentleman gave up 
his policy of inaction, and " began to stir about." The 
big canoe was loaded, and went off, carrying the old 
people and the children. The boys drove the cattle 



MRS. MYERS. 179 

to S wetland' s Hill, taking along the wagon and horses. 
They barely escaped, the water rising so rapidly that 
it came into the wagon-box just before they reached 
the hill. Martha staid at the house and assisted in 
loading the canoe, which Solomon Bennet and Uriah 
Stevens run back and forth between the house and the 
bank. As they were engaged packing up, the ice 
above gave way with a tremendous roar. Martha cried 
out, "Boys, we are gone!" She says, "In an instant 
we were in the canoe — I can not tell how — and were 
lifted up among the tops of the trees, and surrounded 
by cakes of strong ice. The boys rowed, and I pulled 
by the limbs of the trees ; but, in spite of all we could 
do, we were driven down the stream rapidly. It was 
now dark, and our people, with lighted torches, came 
along the bank in the greatest anxiety of mind, fre- 
quently calling out, 'Where are you?' As we were 
swept along by the terrible current, and unable to 
make much headway in consequence of the obstruc- 
tions occasioned by the ice, we saw the lights follow- 
ing along the bank, and occasionally heard our friends 
shout out, ' Keep up good courage ; you will soon reach 
the shore.' We struggled for life, and at eleven or 
twelve o'clock at night we reached the shore. Uriah 
Stevens sprung upon a log which lay by the shore, and 
thence upon the ground. I followed him, but the mo- 
ment I struck the log it rolled, and I was plunged un- 
der the water. I was fortunate enough to rise within 
reach of the young man, and he pulled me out. Sol- 
omon, in the canoe, was then driven out among the 
ice, and it was an hour or more before he reached the 
shore. My clothes were frozen on me, and I was bad- 
ly chilled. I was obliged to walk half a mile in this 
condition before I could get to the fire." 



180 WYOMING. 

Many of the houses of the settlers were carried en- 
tirely away. Mr. Bennet's house was taken down the 
stream some distance, and lodged against some trees 
near the creek. The other families lost their hogs 
and poultry. Seven head of young cattle which were 
driven to the hill were not contented to remain there, 
and were all drowned in an attempt to return. Mrs. 
Myers says, " Our wheat was in the chamber, and, al- 
though some of it was washed, we had plenty left. 
Our corn and meat were saved. Our potatoes and 
cabbage, being buried, remained undisturbed ; so that, 
although our house was gone, we had plenty of pro- 
visions." 

Mr.Bennet now hastily put up a temporary cabin, 
constructed of boards and blankets. Mrs. Myers says, 
" For seven weeks we lived all but out of doors, doing 
our cooking by a log before our miserable cabin. Aft- 
er this we occupied our new double log house, which 
stood near where Elijah Shoemaker now lives, and, by 
slow degrees, was improved so as to be comfortable." 

RENEWAL OF THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 

Mr. Bennet had just removed his family into his new 
house, while it was without chimney or chinking, when 
the old troubles between the two classes of settlers were 
revived. Armstrong and Yan Horn, under the author- 
ity of the Legislative Council of Pennsylvania, had come 
on with a company of armed men, taken possession of 
the fort at Wilkesbarre, and proceeded to drive the 
New England people from the country by force and 
arms. Captain Swift, a Yankee, was wounded in an 
attempt to fire the fort, and was lodged at the widow 
Brockway's, at Tuttle's Creek. Many families were 
driven from their houses; among them were the wid- 



MRS. MYERS. 181 

ows Shoemaker and Lee, near neighbors to Mr. Bennet. 
In vain did they plead that their husbands had been 
slain by the Tories and Indians, and they were help- 
less and defenseless widows, and they could not leave 
their homes and take a long journey through the wil- 
derness. Go they must, and they made the best of the 
necessity. They left a portion of their goods with Mrs. 
Bennet, and were taken to Wilkesbarre, and thence, 
with Esquire Lawrence Myers, Giles Slocum, and many 
others, were hurried on toward " the swamp." At 
Capouse, Myers and Slocum escaped, but the great 
mass of the persecuted people had no remedy but to 
submit to their fate. Mr. Miner says, " About five 
hundred men, women, and children, with scarce provis- 
ions to sustain life, plodded their weary way, mostly 
on foot, the road being impassable for wagons ; moth- 
ers, carrying their infants, literally waded streams, the 
water reaching to their arm-pits, and at night slept or 
the naked earth, the heavens their canopy, with scarce 
clothes to cover them." What a reflection, this, upon 
Armstrong, Patterson, Van Horn, and Company ! 

Mr. Bennet and Colonel Denison escaped, and went 
up the river to Wyallusing. Mrs. Bennet stuck by the 
stuff. She had never yet left the Valley for the Penn- 
amites, and she had made up her mind that she never 
would. She was not left, however, in the possession 
of her home without an effort to drive her away. Mrs. 
Myers says, "Van Horn and his posse came up, having 
pressed a Mr. Roberts, with his team, to carry off our 
goods. Van Horn ordered mother to clear out, but she 
firmly replied that she was in her own house, and she 
would not leave it for him or any body else. He or- 
dered Andrew and me to put things upon the wagon, 
a service which we refused to render. Some of the 



182 WYOMING. 

men went to the corn-house, where there was a quan- 
tity of com ; but mother seized a hoe, and, presenting 
herself before the door, declared that she would knock 
the first man down who touched an ear of the corn. 
They looked astonished, and left her. They then be- 
gan to look about the house, and they found the big 
chest belonging to the widows, which was so heavy 
that they found it hard to lift, and they threatened to 
break it open with an axe. They carried some of 
our things out of the house ; but, before they had com- 
menced loading up, they became alarmed lest they 
should be noticed by the Yankee boys, a company of 
whom were at the widow Brockway's, and they left 
rather hastily, charging mother to be ready to leave 
the next morning. When they left Eoberts went 
about his business, and < the boys' came and helped us 
return our things to their appropriate places. The 
Pennamites gave us no more interruption." 

A few days after the above events had transpired, 
Miss Bennet went out to milk the cows very early — as 
she says, when she " could see the stars." John Sat- 
terlee came along, to whom she said, u Satterlee, what 
in the world are you doing so early?" He answered, 
" We have Dave Ogden out here in the woods." " Who 
has him?" demanded Miss Bennet. "Bill Slocum," 
was the answer. Said she, "Do let him go; he'll cer- 
tainly kill you. Is he bound?" "No," was the an- 
swer. "Can you give me something to eat?" asked 
Satterlee. "Yes; but you must not tell where you 
got it," was the answer. A cold cut was set before 
him ; and, after satisfying his hunger, he left, smiling. 
Miss Bennet charged him again and again, while he 
sat at the table, either to " let Ogden slip away or to 
bind him fast." Colonel Franklin, the Yankee leader, 



MRS. MYERS. 183 

had his head-quarters at Mill Creek, on the opposite 
side of the river, whither Satterlee and Slocum were 
bound with their prisoner. They took him into a ca- 
noe at the mouth of Shoemaker's Creek, and push- 
ed off. Ogden soon asked, "Boys, can you swim?" 
"1ST6," was the answer. Ogden's arms were pinioned, 
but his feet were free. He upset the canoe, turned on 
his back, and easily shoved himself across the river. 
Slocum hung to the canoe, but poor Satterlee went 
down and was drowned. Ogden and Slocum came 
out on the bar opposite Forty Fort, and took different 
directions. Five of the finest young men in the set- 
tlement were killed during these terrible conflicts, 
among whom was William Smith, a young man of fine 
character, and much beloved. 

" The boys" at the widow Brockway's had near- 
ly exhausted their powder. Word came to Colonel 
Franklin, but it was a difncidt matter to convey across 
the river the needed supply. Mrs. Kennedy — an old 
lady called Mother Kennedy — volunteered to convey 
the powder to the place where it was wanted. She 
tied it around her waist, under her dress, and brought 
it to Mr. Bennet's, whence it soon found its way up to 
the widow Brockway's. 

Soon after this a large company, under the command 
of Captain Bolin, a fine-looking man, crossed the river 
from Wilkesbarre, and marched up toward the head- 
quarters of "the boys." The captain called at Mr. 
Bennet's, and asked for a drink of water. Miss Ben- 
net heard him, with a great swell, say, "I'll dislodge 
them." They moved on toward the widow Brock- 
way's ; there were four houses there, built of hewed 
logs, so situated and provided with loop-holes as to 
constitute a formidable fortification. Martha Bennet 



184 WYOMING. 

was anxious for the result, and soon went around the 
corner of the house and listened. A brisk discharge 
of fire-arms soon commenced, but did not long con- 
tinue. Bolin's company fired upon the block-houses, 
and were promptly answered. The redoubtable cap- 
tain took his position behind a large tree, but the well- 
directed aim of some one of "the boys" inflicted upon 
him a mortal wound, and he soon expired. The com- 
pany then fled down the flats, bearing the corpse of 
their captain. 

When the hostile band were seen in full retreat, 
Miss Bennet made a visit to Mrs. Brockway's, and found 
no one at all hurt; but Mrs. M}^ers, afterward Mrs. 
Bidlack, being there for safety, said a ball passed just 
over her head. She returned with Miss Bennet, and 
spent the night. Mother Kennedy's powder did the 
work this time, and, in fact, terminated this unhappy 
war. Mrs. Myers says, " The widows Shoemaker and 
Lee soon returned, and we were no more molested. 
This awful civil war was finally ended, to the great 
joy of all who loved peace and valued human life." 

The view which we present of the Pennamite and 
Yankee wars, it will be observed, is given from the 
Yankee stand-point, and often reflects discredit upon 
the other party. It must not, however, be understood 
that all the Pennsylvanians concerned in the wars are 
regarded as equally guilty, nor that there were none 
among them entirely innocent. The whole responsi- 
bility of the sanguinary proceedings, which occasioned 
so much suffering, rests upon the land-jobbers; they 
were the men who kept up the quarrel, while innocent 
parties on both sides suffered most severely. 

With the termination of the last Pennamite and 
Yankee war Mrs. Mvers's narration closes. What re- 



MKS. MYERS. 185 

mains to be done is to give a more particular account 
of the conclusion of this unfortunate struggle, and a 
brief sketch of the subsequent history of the relater of 
the stories which we have endeavored faithfully to re- 
cord. 

The Pennamite and Yankee war was finally termi- 
nated on the principle of mutual concession, but not 
without great difficulty. At the close of the Kevolu- 
tionary war, the "Superior Executive Council of Penn- 
sylvania" petitioned Congress for a hearing in relation 
to the Connecticut claim, " agreeable to the ninth ar- 
ticle of the Confederation." Connecticut promptly met 
the overture. A court was constituted by mutual 
consent, which held its session in Trenton, New Jersey. 
The decree was awarded, on the 30th of December, 
1782, in favor of the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania. The 
Pennsylvanians, of course, were pleased, and the New 
England people made up their minds to submit to the 
decision. There was, however, still a question left 
open of vastly greater importance than the jurisdiction 
over the country ; that question was the right of the 
soil. The Pennamites thenceforward made every ef- 
fort to drive out the Yankees, and to possess their 
lands. A military force was employed to drive off 
"the intruders," and to take from them the fruit of 
their toils and sacrifices. Blood again began to flow, 
and there were prospects of a more terrible conflict 
than had yet taken place in the ill-stared valley. In 
the sanguinary conflicts which now occurred Swift was 
wounded, and Stevens and Smith were killed on the 
Yankee side, and Bolin and others fell on the side of 
the Pennamites. Untold hardships were inflicted upon 
the greatest portion of the settlers ; they were abso- 
lutely driven out of the Valley by the point of the 



186 WYOMING. 

bayonet. They were driven through the swamp, that 
being the nearest way to Connecticut. This way con- 
sisted of sixty miles of wilderness, and it had to be 
traced on foot. Esquire Elisha Harding, one of the 
sufferers, gives the following graphic and touching ac- 
count of the exodus: "It was a solemn scene: par- 
ents, their children crying for hunger; aged men on 
crutches — all urged forward by an armed force at our 
heels. The first night we encamped at Capouse, the 
second at Cobb's, the third at Little Meadow, so called. 
Cold, hungry, and drenched with rain, the poor wom- 
en and children suffered much. The fourth night at 
Lackawack, fifth at Blooming-grove, sixth at Shehola ; 
on the seventh arrived at the Delaware, where the 
people dispersed, some going up, and some down the 
river. I kept on east, and when I got to the top of 
Shongum Mountain, I looked back with this thought : 
Shall I abandon Wyoming forever ? The reply was, 
No! oh no! there lie my murdered brothers and 
friends. Dear to me art thou, though a land of afflic- 
tion. Every way looks gloomy except toward Wyo- 
ming. Poor, ragged, and distressed as I was, I had 
youth, health, and felt that my heart was whole. So 
I turned back to defend or die." — Miner ] s History, p. 
346. 

"And oh! ye fountains, meadows, hills, and groves, 
Think not of any severing of your loves : 

I love the brooks which down their channels fret 
E'en more than when I tripped lightly as they. 
The innocent brightness of a new-born day 

Is lovely yet ; 
The clouds that gather round the setting suii 
Do take a sober coloring from an eye 
That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality : 
Another race hath been, and other palms are won." 

Wordsworth. 



MRS. MYERS. 187 

Public sentiment in Pennsylvania condemned this 
brutal outrage upon the common laws of humanity, and 
the land-sharks who were concerned in it were compel- 
led to modify their course. The Legislative Council 
of Pennsylvania found it necessary to adopt concilia- 
tory measures, and finally put the New England peo- 
ple into peaceable possession of their homes, on terms 
which the considerate were willing to accept. There 
was an ultra Yankee party, which sprung up under the 
leadership of Colonel John Franklin, and they openly 
opposed the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania. A series of 
conflicts followed between Franklin and his party on 
the one hand, and Colonel Pickering, the government 
functionary, and his party on the other, during which 
Franklin, upon the charge of treason, was seized and 
sent in irons to Philadelphia ; and, in retaliation, Pick- 
ering was abducted and carried off into the woods, and 
kept on short allowance among the musquitoes for 
near three weeks. Franklin was tamed by his long- 
imprisonment of more than one year, and the people 
of Wyoming had rest. 

It is a curious fact that, in all these, troubles with 
the State of Pennsylvania, the Yankees had the sym- 
pathies of a multitude of the people in this state ; and 
there were those who suffered in common with them, 
not only from Pennsylvania, but from various other 
states. The Shoemakers and M'Dowells were Pennsyl- 
vanians, and Esquire Lawrence Myers was from Mary- 
land. No matter where they were from, to Connecti- 
cut they must go, and they were pushed off through the 
swamp. Myers escaped at Capouse, and ' ' the widows, ' ' 
after the brave posse of " militia" had quit them at the 
Delaware, went down stream to their friends. The 
guilt of these people, it is presumed, consisted in their 



188 WYOMING. 

having formed alliances with the Yankees, or taken a 
Connecticut title for their lands. Myers had married 
a Yankee wife, and that was a sufficient reason why 
he should be marched off through the swamp toward 
Connecticut. 

The Kevolutionary war closed, and peace blessed 
all parts of the country except Wyoming. A five 
years' war between two parties which had contracted 
a bitter hatred for each other followed, in which prop- 
erty and life were sacrificed, and the bitter fruits of 
civil war made up a fearful harvest. But peace — wel- 
come peace — finally came, and the wounds inflicted by 
the sanguinary scenes of those fearful times were grad- 
ually healed. 

In the midst of the terrible conflicts and unexampled 
sufferings which we have been called to survey as we 
have passed through the preceding pages, there were 
tender greetings and matrimonial alliances. The brave 
girls of those times found means of access to the hearts 
of the brave lads, both in the army and among the 
hardy settlers. As, in the popular romances, love and 
murder hold prominence in the plot, and are closely 
related, so, in the history of Wyoming, these two an- 
tagonisms stand out in bold relief, and are traced in 
parallel lines. While the soldiers were guarding the 
girls in their excursions over the plains in quest of 
"five-finger-leaf," or the wild fruits which clustered 
in abundance in the thickets — while the thunder of 
the battle roared, and while old and young fled in dis- 
may before the conquering foe, common danger and 
mutual sympathy engendered attachments. Glances 
were exchanged and hearts were won in the midst of 
civil commotions, while the groans of the slain were 
wafted upon the breeze. 



MRS. MYERS. 189 

" In peace Love tunes the shepherd's reel. 
In war she mounts the warrior's steed : 
In halls in gay attire is seen, 
In hamlets dances on the green." 

Scott's Lay of the last Minstrel. 

The tender emotions originating under the fitful cir- 
cumstances of the times were often dissipated by the 
sad rumors which were too common to excite surprise. 
The cup of bliss was often dashed to the ground by 
the chances of war ere it touched the fevered lip. The 
affianced bade adieu to his loved one, to play the man 
for his country or his party, and never returned. His 
fall upon the battle-field or at the post of public duty 
sent to one heart a deeper thrill of sorrow than that 
which agonized the heart of the mother who bore him. 
The story of his fate for long years with that one 
would be the leading fact in the history of a most 
eventful period. 

The picture which is but faintly drawn above is not 
an imaginary one. There were cases of the kind — 
there may have been many — there certainly was one. 
Martha Bennet and William Smith were solemnlv 
pledged to each other through life, for weal or woe. 
Smith was shot in cold blood from the fort, when oc- 
cupied by the Pennamites, while walking across the 
street in his shirt-sleeves in the evening, near the term- 
ination of that unnatural civil war. Miss Bennet was 
disconsolate, and for a considerable time thought to 
spend her life in a state of celibacy. William Smith 
was a son of the wife of Doctor William Hooker Smith 
by a former husband by the name of Smith. The 
death of Smith created a deep sensation among the 
settlers, and inflicted an incurable wound upon the 
hearts of a large and respectable circle of relations and 



190 WYOMING. 

friends. Martha Bermet — subsequently Mrs. Myers — 
was treated as a sistei* by the numerous family of Dr. 
Smith — daughters and sons — until they had all gone 
far down the vale of years. 

In the great conflict for ascendency between John 
Franklin and Timothy Pickering, many of the leading 
spirits in the preceding conflicts on the Yankee side 
were for submission to the laws of Pennsylvania, and 
consequently arranged themselves on the side of Pick- 
ering. It was finally agreed to hold what, in modern 
parlance, would be called a great mass meeting, on the 
old battle-ground at Forty Fort, in May, 1787, and de- 
cide the question by popular vote. A stand was 
erected for the moderator, clerk, and speakers, and the 
hard-fisted settlers were assembled to listen to the 
propositions of the parties and the pleadings of the 
advocates. James Sutton, Esquire, was called to the 
chair. Colonel Pickering made an eloquent speech in 
favor of submission to the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, 
giving the most ample assurances that the government 
would protect the settlers in all their rights as citizens, 
and that there should be no more harassing proceed- 
ings instituted against them. Colonel Franklin then 
arose and rehearsed the grievances of the settlers, and 
denounced "the pretended compromise" and all its 
supporters in the most unmeasured terms. The blood 
of the old Yankees was stirred. Some were on one 
side, and others on the other, but all were excited and 
determined on victory. The old argument of physical 
force was not yet quite out of date, and, in the absence 
of fire-arms, each man ran to the grove hard by and 
cut a club. Many blows were dealt out on both 
sides, but were so adroitly parried off that no heads 
were broken. There was a general melee. Esquire 



MRS. MYERS. 193 

Sutton was driven from the stage and disappeared. 
Supposing that he was spirited away, and was about 
to be victimized by the hair-brained partisans of Frank- 
lin, a party scoured the woods and by-places, and found 
him, now left to himself. Colonel Hollenback cracked 
Colonel Franklin about the ears with his riding- whip, 
loading him with a volley of epithets. A rather in- 
formal vote to sustain the laivs of Pennsylvania and ac- 
cept the proposed compromise was passed, and the gather- 
ing dispersed. 

A new-comer mingled in this scene. The reader 
has noticed the name of Lawrence Myers introduced 
on several occasions in the preceding narrative. The 
father of Esquire Myers removed, with his family, from 
Germany in the year 1760, and settled in Frederick, 
in the State of Maryland. He had four sons, Law- 
rence, Philip, Henry, and Michael. The two former 
served the country in the Eevolutionary war in the 
Maryland line, and were in the battle of Oermantown. 
Lawrence had come to Wyoming, and married, and 
become identified with the New England settlers. He 
was a man of spirit and enterprise, and was appointed 
deputy sheriff under the laws of Pennsylvania, and ex- 
ercised his functions and his influence in quieting mat- 
ters under the compromise. His brother Philip came 
on to Wyoming in 1785, and was present at " the club- 
fight" He had sought the hand of Martha Bennet, 
and they were joined in marriage July 15, 1787, he 
being aged 27, and she 25 years. 

Mr. Thomas Bennet gave his son-in-law a town lot 
on the north line of old Forty Fort. On this he erect- 
ed a comfortable house, constructed of yellow pine 
logs, hewed, and pointed with lime mortar, and lined on 
the inside. This old relic still stands, and, if no vio- 

I 



194 WYOMING. 

lence is done to it, with reasonable repairs may live to 
see the opening of the next century. 

The storm of war had blown over, old grudges be- 
tween the two classes of settlers were fast fading away, 
and society was assuming a condition of stability and 
prosperity. 

"Affliction's cloud, however dark, 

Grows lighter by the lapse of years, 
And many a sorrow now we mark, 
Once deeply felt, whose very tears 
Have left, as brighter scenes passed by, 
Only a rainbow in the sky." 

Roscoe. 

Mr. Myers purchased a lot of one hundred and fifty 
acres, extending from Forty Fort to the top of the 
mountain. He cleared up his farm, and raised a large 
family of children. Mrs. Myers's great force of char- 
acter never forsook her. She possessed a strength of 
will and a firmness of nerve which carried her through 
dangers, sufferings, and toils enough to have broken 
down many ordinary women. For many years Mr. 
Myers kept a public house. His house being situ- 
ated on an eddy in the Susquehanna, it was a great 
place of resort for the lumbermen bringing their 
pine lumber from the upper part of the Susquehanna 
and its tributaries, and taking it to the Baltimore and 
Philadelphia markets. The consequence was that Mr. 
Myers's house was thronged for weeks by the hardy 
"raftsmen" every spring. The house would often be 
literally jammed full, and nearly all the night would 
be occupied by all the help that could be raised in 
preparing for breakfast. But Mrs. Myers's resources 
never failed her ; no one left her table without having 
had set before him an abundant supply of food, pre- 
pared in the best style of the times. She was an ad- 



MRS. MYERS. 195 

mirable housewife down to old age; and when her 
circumstances would have excused her from anxious 
care, from mere habit she governed the kitchen and 
directed all the cooking processes. 

Mrs. Myers was a large-hearted, liberal woman. She 
had the poor always with her. Upon the town lots at 
Forty Fort were located a race of poor people — some 
of them idle, some intemperate, and many of them 
vicious. Whoever or whatever they were, worthy or 
unworthy of her charity, they were never turned 
away empty. Every day, summer and winter, poor, 
squalid, ragged, barefooted women and children were 
dismissed from her door with some of the necessaries 
of life. And she did not always wait for an applica- 
tion on the part of the needy. Often at dinner she 
would say, "Boys, I want to ride out this afternoon." 
No questions would be asked, but at the proper time 
the horse and carriage were ready, and often she was 
her own driver. She first ordered her bags and bas- 
kets of good things deposited in the carriage, and then 
off she went to make the heart of the needy glad. 
Mrs. Myers was no mean driver, even when she had 
become advanced in age. When between sixty and 
seventy years of age, she was left in the carriage, in 
the village of Kingston, by some male member of the 
family. In his absence the animal became restive, 
and set off at full speed. Instead of giving him a 
chance for a fair run up the plain, smooth road home- 
ward, she obliged him to describe half a circle and 
come up against a heavy " pair of bars." The animal 
by this time had acquired a tremendous momentum, 
and in an attempt to scale the bars he went through 
them with a terrible crash ; then, being in a barn-yard, 
his race ended. When a dozen men, who had started 



196 WYOMING. 

on the chase, came up, the old heroine was upon the 
seat, with the reins fast in her hands, with nothing 
about the carriage or harness injured at all. During 
the whole operation she had not uttered a word, ex- 
cepting a moderate " whoa !" to the horse, and this she 
ceased to do when she found it of no use. Upon her 
return home she spoke of the event with perfect com- 
posure, attributing her safety entirely to the provi- 
dence of God. 

Mrs. Myers was left a widow on April 2, 1835. Mr. 
Myers had a protracted illness, and during his decline 
and gradual approach to the hour of his departure his 
ever-faithful and kind-hearted companion never left 
him, scarcely for a day, to the care of others. On re- 
newing the fire one night, a spark of burning anthra- 
cite coal struck her eye near the pupil. This injury 
brought on cataract. She had scarcely lost the sight 
of one eye before the other began to fail, and she final- 
ly lost that, and the world was thenceforward shut out 
from her vision. 

" Thus -with the year 
Seasons return, but not to me returns 
Day, or the sweet approach of ev'n or morn, 
Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, 
Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine ; 
But clouds instead, and ever-during dark 
Surrounds me ; from the cheerful ways of man 
Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair 
Presented with a universal blank 
Of Nature's works, to me expunged and rased, 
And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out." 

Miltox. 

She lived after this nearly sixteen years, an example 
of pious resignation, and an interesting instance of 
physical and intellectual vigor. 



MRS. MYERS. 197 

Mrs. Myers was visited by Professor Silliman previ- 
ous to her blindness. Mr. Miner gives an account of 
the visit in his history. Colonel Stone and Mr. Los- 
sing, in turn, with other interesting tourists and authors, 
called upon her, as the most accurate chronicler of the 
stirring and romantic events of the early history of 
Wyoming. All make honorable mention of her. Her 
accurate memory of the scenes which came under her 
own observation, and those which were matter of com- 
mon report and universal belief in the olden time, is 
remarked with admiration by the authors above re- 
ferred to. But those alone who had been accustomed 
to hear these events related for years are prepared 
fully to appreciate her extreme accuracy of recollec- 
tion. Her children, who heard her stories hundreds 
of times, we will venture to say, never caught her in a 
single contradiction or a material variation in relating 
the same facts. She never obtruded her reminiscences 
upon unwilling ears, but, when requested — and this 
was often done — she was always prepared to recall the 
strange events of her life. 

What was very extraordinary in the case of Mrs. 
Myers is that she continued, to the last point of life, to 
remember recent occurrences as well as those which 
transpired in the days of her youthful vigor. Her 
active habits made it unpleasant to her to remain long 
at the same place. She consequently itinerated around 
among her children, who were settled in the neigh- 
borhood. While at one of these places she learned, 
by overhearing conversation, and occasionally asking 
a question, all that was going on upon the premises ; 
and when she removed to another place, she related 
all the domestic news, giving most accurate accounts 
of the whole course of business. Let it not be sup- 



198 WYOMING. 

posed, however, that she exposed the imperfections or 
weaknesses of one family circle to another. She nev- 
er dwelt upon the faults of the absent ; and, in speak- 
ing of one of her children to another, she always made 
every thing as fair as possible. No mother was ever 
more constant and earnest in the pursuit of the best 
means to establish and maintain a most cordial family 
feeling among her children. 

Mr. Myers died at the old homestead, the house 
which he first occupied after his marriage, and in 
which all his children were born and reared. Mrs. 
Myers died at the house of her son-in-law, Madison F. 
Myers, on the old Lawrence Myers farm, January 3, 
1851. She had been rather indisposed for a few days, 
and required special attention. Her daughter visited 
her room at about one o'clock in the morning, and, 
finding her awake, asked her how she was. She made 
no complaint, but urged her to retire and take some 
rest. Upon receiving a spoonful of liquid to moisten 
her lips, she said, "How good the Lord is." These 
were her last words. The daughter retired, and the 
nurse fell asleep. At early dawn she was found life- 
less. The lamp of life had quietly expired, no evi- 
dence being left of the slightest struggle, or the un- 

O O CO 1 

natural motion of a muscle — twelve days short of 
eighty-nine years of age. 

"Thrice welcome, Death ! 
That after many a painful, bleeding step, 
Conducts us to our home, and lands us safe 
On the long-wished-for shore. Prodigious change ! 
Our bane turned to a blessing ! Death disarmed, 
Loses his fellness quite : all thanks to Him 
Who scourged the venom out. Sure the last end 
Of the good man is peace ! How calm his exit ! 
Night-dews fall not more gently to the ground, 



MRS. MYERS. 199 

Nor weary, worn-out winds expire so soft. 
Behold him in the coming tide of life — 
A life well spent, whose early care it was 
His riper years should not upbraid his green : 
By unperceived degrees he wears away, 
Yet, like the sun, seems larger at his setting." 

Robert Blair. 



200 WYOMING; 



V. 

SKETCHES AND INCIDENTS COMMUNICATED BY MES. 
DEBORAH BEDFORD. 

"Old men beheld, and did her reverence, 
And bade their daughters look, and take from her 
Example of their future life ; the young 
Admired, and new resolTe of virtue made." — Pollok. 

Mrs. Bedford, at the time of tins writing, is living 
and enjoying comfortable health. She lives, as she 
has done since the death of her husband, with her son, 
Dr. Andrew Bedford, of Abington, Luzerne County, 
Pennsylvania. From early childhood she has main- 
tained a character not only without reproach, but above 
suspicion. She is the oracle of her family circle, and 
is universally loved. She is one of the few instances 
which are seen in a century of a contented, happy, 
hopeful mind, which has borne the friction and sus- 
tained the hardships of eighty -five years. She joined 
the first Methodist society which was formed in Wyo- 
ming in 1788, only ten years after the Indian battle. 
Her memory of the events of the olden time is still 
quite perfect, and her relations are given with more 
emotion than is common to those of her years. There 
is a remarkably matter-of-fact, business style about the 
stories of the survivors of the old stirring and bloody 
times ; but Mrs. Bedford seems to recall the fears, the 
hopes, the sorrows, and the joys of the scenes in which 
she mingled eighty years agone. Her sympathies are 
so deep that time has labored in vain to extinguish 
them. We are aware of the delicacy of writing of the 
living ; thus much we have thought it proper to say, 



MRS. BEDFORD. 201 

and we hope that the modest self-distrust, and desire 
to keep out of sight, which are characteristic of our 
venerated friend, will not so far influence her mind as 
that this just tribute to her virtues will cause her pain. 

Mrs. Bedford was the daughter of James and Sarah 
Sutton, and was born February 8th, 1773, in North 
Castle, New York. Her father was engaged in mer- 
chandising, and, when British goods were interdicted, 
he sold his property and removed to Wyoming, in 
company with Dr. William Hooker Smith, his father- 
in-law. Dr. Samuel Gustin married Susan Smith, his 
wife's sister, studied medicine with Dr. Smith, and was 
assistant surgeon with him in the army. 

Mr. Sutton settled on Jacob's Plains, on the east side 
of the Susquehanna, two miles above Wilkesbarre. 
Before the Indian troubles he removed to Exeter, on 
the west side of the river, about five miles above the 
head of the valley of Wyoming. Here he built a grist- 
mill and a saw-mill upon a stream which gushes from 
a notch of the mountain. His house was built in the 
steep hill-side, and the scenery around him was wild 
and picturesque. Mr. Sutton was possessed of unusual 
mechanical genius. He was not a carpenter by trade, 
but, aided by a Dictionary of Arts, he was able to do 
most of the work of planning and constructing his 
mills himself. 

At this time the Indians were friendly, and often 
visited Mr. Sutton's house. A company of them, made 
up of both sexes, once came in and cut up various 
pranks which greatly amused the children. They 
danced before the looking-glass with long ribbons tied 
to their hair behind, and seemed to feel no restraint 
even in a house well fitted up and furnished. Mr. 

12 



202 ' - WYOMING. 

Sutton and his lady seldom opposed their wishes, as 
they did not choose to offend them. An old Indian 
once having brought a grist to the mill, after Mr. Sut- 
ton had taken out the toll, when he thought himself 
unobserved, took the measure and put the toll back 
into the hopper. Mr. Sutton thought this an occasion 
for a little sternness. He charged the theft upon him, 
and again took the toll. The savage was sullen, but 
offered no resistance. 

In the year 1777 — the year before the battle — there 
was much talk of war with the Indians. Several per- 
sons were killed up the river, and others taken prison- 
ers. Mr. Sutton and John Jenkins, afterward known 
as Colonel Jenkins, made a journey through the wil- 
derness to Queen Esther's Flats, in order to procure 
the liberation of Mr. Ingersoll, who had been carried 
into captivity. The distance of Queen Esther's town 
from Wyoming was about ninety miles. The visitors 
were treated very courteously by the queen, and she 
was free in her communications with regard to the 
prospect of war. She said she was opposed to war ; 
she wished the Indians and white people to live in 
peace with each other. Mr. Sutton belonged to the so- 
ciety of Friends, was a religious man, and talked with 
the queen religiously. She seemed to have correct 
views of religious and moral obligations. 

They were invited to spend the night with the 
queen, and the true spirit of hospitality seemed to 
characterize all her communications and arrangements. 
In the course of the evening, however, things took a 
new turn, and the travelers, for a while, were at a loss 
what construction to put upon the indications outside. 
A company of Indians came before the house, and, 
seating themselves upon a log, began to sing " the war 



MRS. BEDFORD. 203 

song." The old queen went out to them, and was en- 
gaged in an earnest conversation with them for a long 
time. When she came in she frankly told her guests 
that the Indians were determined to waylay and kill 
them, adding, with great emphasis, "I can do nothing 
with them. Now," said she, "you lie down until I 
call you." They did so ; and when all was still in the 
town, she called them, and then said, " You must go 
down the river. Go down the bank, and take my ca- 
noe, and paddle it without noise. Lift the paddles up 
edgewise, so as to make no splash in the water, and 
you may get out of reach before the war-party find out 
which way you have gone." They slipped off and 
found the canoe, which the queen had particularly de- 
scribed, scrupulously followed her directions, and found 
their way home in safety. 

The Indians winch were prowling about now began 
to be ill-natured, and to exhibit signs of hatred to the 
settlers. On one occasion they made a war demon- 
stration on the opposite side of the river, in full view 
from Mr. Sutton's house. There was a large company, 
and they were seen gathering pine knots for the whole 
day. They collected a vast pile, and when night came 
they set them on fire. The flame seemed to go up 
to the clouds, and sent out its glare over all the region 
round about. The Indians danced and whooped, sung 
and yelled, around the fire the whole night. The 
spectacle was most terrific. 

In the spring of 1778, Mr. Sutton rented his premises 
in Exeter, and purchased a mill-seat in Kingston, in 
the place since called Hartsift's Hollow, one mile from 
Forty Fort. He sawed a quantity of lumber and 
made a raft. Then, putting on board the raft his fam- 
ily and all his valuables, they were floated down to 



204: WYOMING. 

" Forty Fort Eddy." Mrs. Bedford says : " We lived 
in a shanty while our house was being built, and it 
was nearly finished, when we were overwhelmed with 
a tide of troubles. A malignant and contagious dis- 
ease, called the putrid fever, broke out in the settle- 
ment. My grandmother Smith and aunt Gustin died 
of this disease. A young man who was at work upon 
our house also died, and my mother, two sisters, and 
myself caught the disease from him. 

" The settlers now began to be apprehensive of an 
attack from the Indians, and many of them removed 
to the fort. My youngest sister died, and then our 
nurse left us and went into the fort with her parents. 
Doctors Smith and Gustin told us that there were so 
many sick in the fort that if we went there we would 
probably die ; that those who were as near the fort as 
we were would do better to remain at their homes as 
long as they could do so with safety. It was then ar- 
ranged that, if there should be a prospect of an attack, 
three alarm-guns should be fired at the fort. One day 
an old gray -headed Indian came and walked back and 
forth before our door several times. Father, suppos- 
ing that there was a company of Indians on the hill, 
and, if the old Indian was molested, they would come 
and massacre us, gave him a loaf of bread, when he 
went away, and we saw no more of him." 

One morning early the alarimguns were fired, and 
Mr. Sutton went to the fort to ascertain the state of mat- 
ters. When he left he ordered things to be put in a 
state of readiness to remove. He soon returned with 
an officer, a team, and a file of armed men. Mrs. Sut- 
ton was fast recovering ; Deborah was much better, but 
not yet able to walk any distance; and the } r ounger 
daughter was yet extremely low, and was carried upon 



MRS. BEDFORD. 205 

a litter. Deborah was taken on a wheelbarrow by a 
young man by the name of Asa Gore, who belonged 
to Captain Stuart's company, and was afterward killed 
in the battle. They reached the fort, and the sick were 
laid on beds spread upon the floor. 

Lieutenant Hamilton had been to General Washing- 
ton's head-quarters, and most eloquently urged the 
necessity of immediate assistance being sent on to 
Wyoming. He pointed out the defenseless condition 
of the settlement, most of the effective force haying 
been drawn away, and a remorseless horde of savages 
and Tories about to make a hostile demonstration upon 
them from the north. He had just returned, and he 
used his influence to prevail upon the companies which 
had assembled in the fort to remain there, and, if need 
be, to defend it until succor should be sent on from 
the army. But Captain Stuart threatened to withdraw 
his company if the commanding officers refused to go 
out and meet the enemy. They finally resolved to go 
but and fight. Stuart and his party were confident of 
success. They had no idea of the odds they would have 
to contend against, but were phrensied with the idea of 
shooting down a few scattered bands of Indians and 
Tories. Many of the people in the fort were not at all 
sensible of the awful hazards of the movement. 

Dr. Smith and his family were in the fort at Wilkes- 
barre, A short time before the battle the doctor went 
to his house above the town to get some provisions. 
He undertook to boil some potatoes, and, as he was 
proceeding with this business, he imagined that some- 
thing like a blanket was thrown over his head. He 
supposed it to be a warning from the spirit of his de- 
parted wife of some approaching evil. He looked out 
of the window, and saw several Indians standing on 



206 WYOMING. 

the top of the hill, looking toward the house. kJ>. 
went out at the back door and ran along the creek — 
Mill Creek — until he came to the river, and then pro- 
ceeded on the beach, under cover of the river bank, 
and so reached the fort in safety. 

We set down the above somewhat singular story 
without advancing any theory upon which it is to be 
explained. It was taken from the lips of Mrs. Bed- 
ford, and must be altogether authentic. Dr. Smith, 
during his latter years, was known to be somewhat 
skeptically inclined. The idea of a warning from the 
spirit of his departed wife proves that at the time he 
had strong convictions of the existence of disembodied 
spirits. Whether the serious circumstances by which 
he was then surrounded for the time dissipated his 
doubts, or the sense of personal security which super- 
vened in after years overcame the convictions of ear- 
lier life, we are not prepared to say. 

" On the 3d of July, 1778," says Mrs. Bedford, " our 
little army marched from Forty Fort to meet the en- 
emy. Doctors Smith and Gustin went out mounted. 
When our men turned and fled, and the work of 
slaughter began, the doctors ran their horses, but were 
hotly pursued. The Indians were so near that a ball 
passed through Dr. Gustin's hat. They came in, and 
brought us the sad tidings that our men were beaten, 
and the Indians were pursuing them through the woods. 
My father, although a Quaker, believed it right to fight 
in self-defense, and would probably have been in the 
battle had it not been necessary for him to stay with 
the women and children, and to take care of the sick." 

After the flag of truce had been sent up, and while 
the negotiations for the capitulation were in progress, 
a barrel of liquor which was in the fort was rolled 



MRS. BEDFORD. 207 

down the bank and the head knocked in, that it might 
not fall into the hands of the Indians. When the In- 
dians came into Mr. Sutton's cabin they marked those 
present as prisoners of war, and then proceeded to 
plunder them of their goods. Mr. Sutton, presuming 
too hastily that they would be left with the clothing 
which they had on, put on his wedding suit — a fine 
Quaker suit. Mrs. Sutton, a little more shrewd, left 
her best clothing in her trunks, and covered them up 
with rubbish, and so saved them from observation. 
The first " big Indian" that came along after Mr. Sut- 
ton had rigged himself up in his best stripped him of 
every article he had on excepting his shirt. How that 
rascally savage looked in his "fine Quaker suit," with 
his rifle, bullet-pouch, and powder-horn, and a string 
of scalps around his waist, may be imagined. It was 
no part of the policy of the Indians to have things in 
keeping according to the tastes of civilization. 

It was now sufficiently evident that there was no 
safety for the settlers under the articles of capitulation. 
Butler left the Valley, and the Indians that lingered 
behind were under no manner of restraint. How Mr. 
Sutton was to dispose of his family was a question 
which had its serious difficulties. The youngest child 
was still very low, while Mrs. Sutton and Deborah were 
feeble, and the idea of a journey through the swamp 
was not to be admitted for a moment. Mr. Sutton's 
mechanical skill now came in play. He and Dr. Gus- 
tin set themselves at work to build a boat. They took 
timber and boards from deserted cabins, and drew out 
old nails which had ceased to be of any service where 
they were, and with such materials, "in nine days" 
they had completed and launched their craft. Trunks, 
boxes, and bundles were soon deposited in the boat, 



208 WYOMING. 

and the two families, fifteen persons all told, seated 
upon and among them. The ingenious and courage- 
ous navigators pushed off from the shore, and com- 
mitted themselves and their families to the care of a 
gracious Providence upon the treacherous current of a 
river so obstructed by rocks and rapids as to be scarce- 
ly navigable in low water except by canoes. 

Their hastily -built craft had been calked, but no tar 
or pitch could be obtained, and, consequently, it was 
found to leak considerably. They hauled up for re- 
pairs, or "to overhaul her," at Captain Stuart's place, 
in Hanover. The females went into the deserted man- 
sion and took refreshments, while the men proceeded 
to "stop leaks." Poor Stuart was slain in the battle, 
or, as has been reported, tortured the day following, 
and his house was left desolate, but not yet consigned 
to the flames. Mrs. Bedford says that up to the time 
of their leaving the Valley nothing was said about 
the houses of the settlers being burned. She saw no 
smoke arising from burning houses, and heard no men- 
tion of it ; but when she returned to the Yalley she 
learned that the houses of the settlement had been con- 
sumed by fire soon after they left. 

The difficulties which were overcome and the haz- 
ards which were run in this enterprise can now scarce- 
ly be estimated. Their craft was a slight flat-bottomed 
boat, constructed of materials not designed for such a 
purpose. Upon this frail vessel all the luggage which 
they dared venture to take on was piled up, and then 
fifteen persons, some of them sick, one utterly helpless, 
were seated among the luggage. And now what was 
before them ? A rapid, crooked river, several consid- 
erable falls, at best of dangerous navigation, and, for 
aught that was known, many miles of the way they 



MRS. BEDFORD. 209 

would be exposed to the merciless savages. It re- 
quired courage and skill of no ordinary grade to exe- 
cute successfully such an enterprise. Mrs. Bedford pi- 
ously remarks, "We had a dangerous passage down 
the river, but the hand of Providence preserved us." 
"We will here give a portion of her narrative in her 
own language. 

" Just before night we came to a house on the bank 
of the river, where we were kindly received and fur- 
nished with supper. We thought to have remained 
here for the night, but, fearing the Indians, we con- 
cluded to trust the hand of Providence for a safe pas- 
sage through the Kescopeck Falls, at dead of night, 
rather than run the risk of falling into the hands of 
the savages. We arrived safely at Northumberland 
the next morning. That day we learned that the wom- 
an and her two sons at the house where we took our 
supper, and where we thought to remain over night, 
were murdered by the Indians. Our apprehensions of 
danger were well founded, and, had we remained at 
that place, we should probably all have been either 
murdered or led into hopeless bondage. 

" From Northumberland we went on to Middletown, 
but Dr. Gustin- went to Carlisle, where he entered into 
practice.* We remained in Middletown more than 
two years. The town was full of ' Fleeters,' as we were 
called, and provisions were extremely scarce. We 
could procure none other than salt provisions, and for 
them we had to pay very high prices. Learning that 

* An infant daughter of Dr. Gustin, who constituted one of the 
company in the boat, subsequently became the wife of the Rev. Mr. 
Snowden, a Presbyterian clergyman, and the mother of Hon. James 
Ross Snowden, well known in Pennsylvania as having occupied va- 
rious important and responsible public positions. 



210 WYOMING. 

there was a garrison established at Wilkesbarre for the 
defense of such of the inhabitants as wished to return 
to their possessions, we returned to the Valley. It was 
not without great sufferings and fatigue that we final- 
ly reached Wilkesbarre. 

" Our grist-mill and house at Exeter were burned by 
the Indians and Tories. That the latter had a hand in 
the matter is evident from the fact that the mill-irons 
from both the grist-mill and saw-mill were all carried 
off, and they were things that the Indians would not 
take. Our house in Kingston had in some way es- 
caped the flames, but had been stripped of its cover- 
ing by our men to build barracks with in Wilkes- 
barre. We consequently had no materials with which 
to build us a house to live in. The ingenuity of my 
father, however, was equal to the emergency. He 
erected a frame, and filled it in between the posts with 
split wood, and plastered it with clay mortar on each 
side ; he then made a wash of white clay, and washed 
it over with a brush, and gave it a very nice finish. 
My mother prepared some coloring matter, and orna- 
mented the wall quite prettily. The house, when com- 
pleted, was considered as really a fine thing. It stood 
in Wilkesbarre just above the fort, on ground occupied 
subsequently by Arnold Colt, Esq., and at present by 
Hon. John N. Cunningham. 

"There was now no mill in the settlement. The 
officers and men in the garrison had flour which was 
brought in from below, but the people of the settlement 
pounded Indian corn in a hominy block, of which 
they made bread and mush, which was nutritious, and 
not disagreeable food. It was, however, difficult to 
procure this coarse breadstuff in sufficiency to meet the 
necessities of the people. The pestle was in motion 



MRS. BEDFORD. 211 

night and day, each, one who came taking his or her 
turn. 

"'My father now set himself at work to meet the 
pressing wants of the settlement by building a mill on 
Mill Creek, near the river. He found carpenters among 
the soldiers who assisted him, and the mill was soon 
put up. A sentry-box was constructed upon the top 
of the mill, where a watch was kept day and night, 
for the Indians were skulking about, plundering all 
they could lay their hands upon, and killing all who 
crossed their path. The mill was built of hewed logs, 
and was on land belonging to Obadiah Gore. During 
the Pennamite and Yankee squabbles it was seized by 
a certain person under a Pennsylvania title. My fa- 
ther was absent, having gone up the river for personal 
safety ; my mother went up to the mill, and ordered 
the miller to clear out, informing him that the mill was 
her husband's property, and that she would have a 
company of men there immediately who would take 
him into custody. Just then three men rode up — one 
of them was Dr. Smith, my grandfather, and another 
was William Smith, who afterward was shot by the 
Pennamites — and the miller took the alarm and left. 
The mill stood and did good service to the settlement 
until the celebrated pumpkin flood, when it was car- 
ried away.* 

* In October, 1786, a great flood occurred on the Susquehanna, 
which was the occasion of an immense amount of damage. The 
water was never known to rise so high except on the occasion of the 
great "ice flood." Mills, houses, barns, and stacks of hay and grain 
were swept away. Horses and cattle, pigs and poultry, in great 
numbers, were carried down the current- Corn-fields were clear- 
ed of such quantities of pumpkins that the raging current was com- 
pletely speckled with them ; hence the name — the "pumpkin flood." 
Wilkesbarre was partially inundated, great losses were sustained, 



212 WYOMING. 

" The settlers returned in great numbers, but such 
was the exposure of the country to the savages at a 
distance from the fort that they crowded into Wilkes- 
barre until they were uncomfortably jammed together. 
Mr. Eos well Franklin, a brother of Colonel John Frank- 
lin, had a farm upon the flats below Wilkesbarre, not 
far from the fort. His wife said that she would go 
on to their farm if the Indians were as thick as the 
pine-trees. She carried out her purpose, but it cost 
her her life. 

"Her daughter — a young woman — one day went 
to the spring for water, and was gone so long that Mrs. 
Franklin became alarmed, and sent some of the small- 
er children to see if they could find her. They soon 
came running back in a great fright, informing her 
that their sister was coming with a company of In- 
dians. Mrs. Franklin had been confined but two weeks 
before. The Indians ordered her to get up and dress 
herself. Difficult as was the task, it had to be done. 
The Indians took what they wanted, and set off with 
the mother and her children. As they left, she saw 
an Indian take a shovelful of live coals from the fire 
and place it between two beds. The prisoners were 
taken to the woods. 

" Mr. Franklin was plowing upon the flats between 
his house and the fort. He saw his house in flames, 
and, judging of the instruments of the mischief, un- 
harnessed one of his horses, and rode to Wilkesbarre 
upon a jump. A company of men turned out and 
pursued the party, overtaking them on the mount- 

and great suffering during the following -winter WW endured by the 
inhabitants of the ill-starred Valley in consequence of this fearful 
flood. It is a wonder that not more than one or two lives were 
lost. 



MRS. BEDFORD. 213 

ain this side of Meshoppen.* The Indians were worst- 
ed, and the prisoners brought back, excepting Mrs. 
Franklin and her infant child. 

"We saw people gathered on the outside of the 
fort, and, not knowing the cause, went down to ascer- 
tain what it was, and there we saw Miss Franklin, who 
related to us the whole story. She said, when our 
people came so near as to fire, they called on the pris- 
oners to fall. They all fell ; but her mother lifted up 
her head, and said, ' Your father is with them.' She 
said to her mother, ' Put down your head ; there is an 
Indian coming to kill you.' He fired, and she breathed 
her last. After the first shot, our people called to the 
prisoners to come to them: they then ran to them, 
and the Indians which remained alive fled in every 
direction. Some one saw an Indian put Mrs. Frank- 
lin's child behind a log ; but they must have removed 
it to another place, or carried it off, for it was not to 
be found. Miss Franklin said that when the Indians 
had built their fire at night, they would conduct them- 
selves in the most brutal manner to the child and the 
mother. They would not let the mother nurse the 
child, and would often pinch the poor little creature to 
make it scream. 

"Frederick Follett, at the time of the battle, was 
stabbed nine times, and scalped, and finally recovered. 
Several years afterward he called upon Dr. Smith to 
assist him in securing a pension. They made an ap- 
pointment to meet at my father's house. The doctor 
examined his scars. He showed us where he was 
stabbed, and it was evident enough that he had been 
scalped. As to his being stabbed, he said it was done 

* According to others, it was upon the Frenchtown Mountain, 
above Wyallusing. 



214 WYOMING. 

by different Indians, each one giving him a stab in 
passing. He endured the scalping and stabbing with- 
out making a motion, that they might suppose him 
dead. When he was scalped, he supposed the next 
thing would be the tomahawk; but the attention of 
the Indian who did the deed being probably drawn 
in some other direction, he neglected this part of the 
operation. Those following on, supposing the work 
completed, contented themselves with piercing what 
they thought a dead man with their spears. 

" A Mr. Corey, who had lost a son in the war, once 
came to my father's house some years afterward. We 
had been informed that he had learned the circum- 
stances of his son's death. Upon my mother request- 
ing him to tell us the story, he said, ' Mrs. Sutton, I 
will.' He then said that when the roll was called on 
the morning of the battle, he saw his son — a boy about 
fifteen years of age — standing in the ranks. He said, 
1 Silas, go back ;' he answered, l Father, I can do some- 
thing.' He told him the second time to. leave the 
ranks, and he went out of his sight. When they came 
into the action he saw his son by his side ; it was then 
too late to send him away. This was the last he saw 
of him. A neighbor of his was taken prisoner, and 
subsequently returned, and gave him a description of 
the manner in which the boy came to his end. He 
said that after the battle some prisoners were encamp- 
ed in the woods with the Indians and Tories, and that 
one of the Tories told the Indians that this boy was a 
captain of a company of boys that were being trained 
up to kill them. They then gathered a quantity of 
pine knots, and dug a hole in the ground, and set 
therein four bayonets with the points upward. They 
then lifted the boy up, and let him fall down on the 



MES. BEDFOKD. 215 

bayonets, all of which pierced him, two just below his 
hips, and two near his shoulder-blades. They then 
built a slow fire under him with the pine knots, and 
thus tortured him until near daylight, when he ex- 
pired. 

" The witness of this horrible scene said that the 
poor fellow uttered the most heart-rending cries, but 
he durst not show the least emotion upon the occasion, 
not doubting but any manifestation of sympathy would 
subject him to the same fate. While the father was 
giving the relation, the big tears rolled from his eyes 
in quick succession. The whole story, and the man- 
ner of the old gentleman, are all now perfectly fresh in 
my recollection. These terrible scenes used to prey 
upon my thoughts, and harass me in my dreams, un- 
til they were imbedded in my very nature." 

PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAES. 

The scenes of the last Pennamite and Yankee war 
which Mrs. Bedford witnessed, or has related from her 
immediate family connections, are given pretty much 
in her own language, and contain several interesting 
incidents which are not in the histories, and which we 
have not learned from any other source. 

" The wars between the Pennsylvania and JSTew En- 
gland people were terrible. Dr. Smith took sides with 
the Yankees in the first struggle before the war with 
the Indians. I remember to have heard it said that, 
when Colonel Plunkett was about to invade ^settle- 
ment, the doctor harangued the people eloquently. 
He told them that every man who had no gun or sword 
must make swords of their scythes, and every boy who 
could lift a bush must be on hand. The spirit of the 
people was up ; men, women, and children were all 



216 WYOMING. 

engaged in doing something. The old rusty guns and 
bayonets were scoured up, and those who had no guns 
took their scythes and attached them to poles, with 
which, in a close encounter, they could do terrible exe- 
cution. Others seized their axes, hoes, picks, crow- 
bars, and whatever they had which would serve the 
purpose of defense, or be useful in building breast- 
works. My father, Quaker as he was, shouldered his 
gun among the rest. They took their position at the 
foot of the valley, on both sides of the river, and when 
Plunkett, with his men, reached the head of Nanticoke 
Falls, they were met with a deadly fire, first from one 
side and then from the other. They looked up the 
mountain sides, and the waving boughs of hemlock, 
pine, and laurel, and the fearful yells and shouts which 
echoed from mountain top to mountain top, made a 
terrible impression on the minds of the assailants. The 
woods seemed to be alive, and the very trees in motion. 
The idea that thousands of the * Green Mountain 
Boys' had come down from Vermont and New Hamp- 
shire seized the mind of the gallant colonel and his 
men, and they retreated without making a respectable 
effort to accomplish their object. 

" After the Indian troubles began to abate, this un- 
natural war was resumed. One of my uncles lived in 
Forty Fort, and kept an open house for the accommo- 
dation of ' the Yankee Boys.' I kept house for him, 
and always had a supply of bread, meat, milk, and 
vegetables, and gave them free access to the pantry, 
where they would help themselves. The poor fellows 
would come in weary and hungry, set up their guns, 
and rush to the table like starving wolves. 

" When Armstrong and Patterson came on, they 
commenced a series of efforts to drive the Yankees 



MRS. BEDFORD. 217 

out of the country. One of their schemes was to bur- 
den the settlers with their men. They quartered their 
soldiers around among the people, and gave some one 
of them charge of the house. Six of Armstrong's men 
were quartered upon us, and the meanest one of the lot 
was put in charge cf the house. He swelled and 
swaggered, and gave out orders with the authority of 
an absolute monarch. Mother was pleasant, and did 
the best for them she could, not wishing to offend 
them. Father thought he would leave the Valley, 
and he took a canoe load of our goods up to Black 
Walnut, intending to return and take his family, but 
he was taken sick there, and we heard nothing from 
him for near six months. 

" Armstrong had a very bad felon, and applied to 
Dr. Smith for medical treatment. The doctor told him 
that he would not go into the fort to attend to his case, 
but if he would take board among the citizens he 
would do what he could for him. It was finally ar- 
ranged that he should meet the doctor at our house. 
We gave him all the comforts which the house afford- 
ed, and his felon was soon cured. When the Yankees 
were all ordered off, Armstrong came to our house 
and said to my mother, 'Mrs. Sutton, you will not 
like to go with the rabble ; you may stay a day or two, 
and then go at your leisure.' The gallant officer 
doubtless thought this indulgence an ample compensa- 
tion for our attentions during his severe afflictions. 
Mother was about to be confined, and father was gone 
up the river, and she told him she could not go. 
'Oh,' said he, 'you must go, but we will make it as 
agreeable for you as possible.' Soon after a file of 
armed men came in and ordered mother to clear out. 
When they left they said she might have fifteen min- 

K 



218 WYOMING. 

utes to leave in. She told them she could not go at 
all. Soon after they returned, and found mother lying 
on a bed on the floor. They told her to get up and 
be off immediately. She flung the clothing off, and, 
rising up, said, ' Here I am, take my life as soon as 
you please.' A ruffian pointed his bayonet at her, 
and swore he would kill her, taking a step toward her 
as though he would execute his threat, when one of 
them stepped up and turned his gun away, saying, 
1 Come along, and let the woman alone.' 

" The Yankees were on Eedoubt Hill, and our house 
was in range between that point and the fort, and they 
told us they should burn all the houses between the 
fort and the hill. They commenced firing the houses, 
and the bullets began to whistle around us. We then 
found we must flee, or lose our lives either by the 
bullets or the flames. "We gathered up what we could 
carry and went to my uncle Bailey's — the location 
now occupied by Steele's hotel. Our house was burn- 
ed and all there was left in it. We remained at my 
uncle's undisturbed. 

" When father returned we removed across the riv- 
er, and built a house in Forty Fort. Here we were 
during the conflict between Pickering and Franklin. 
When the people were called together to vote upon 
the question of submitting to the laws of Pennsylva- 
nia, my father was appointed moderator, and it de- 
volved upon him to receive the votes and report the 
result. The Franklin men, beginning to doubt their 
strength, took father away, and carried him into the 
woods. A general melee followed. The men rushed 
into the thicket and cut clubs : it was an awful scene. 
The young hickories bent and fell before the great 
jack-knives of the men, and the heavy green clubs 



MRS. BEDFORD. 219 

were lifted and brandished in all directions. Father 
was found and brought back ; and, after a slight brush, 
in which no one was killed or very seriously injured, 
the men scattered and went home. Poor Franklin 
came along with his face bleeding from wounds re- 
ceived in the squabble. 

"This was the winding-up of the civil wars of the 
famous Valley of Wyoming. Grievous and cruel wars 
and destructive floods desolated this lovely spot until 
many were driven to despair, and finally abandoned 
the place and settled elsewhere. Under the severe 
losses and untold hardships which we were compelled 
to endure from the causes which I have endeavored 
to describe, we had passed through a discipline which 
had its favorable influence through after-years. We 
were taught the vanity and uncertainty of all human 
things, and had received many lessons in relation to 
God's providential dealings. 

" We returned to our place in HartsifVs Hollow, 
and remained there a while. Then my father, in con- 
nection with Dr. Smith, built a forge at Lackawanna ; 
but, not succeeding as he desired in making iron, he 
returned to Exeter, where he and my mother both fin- 
ished their earthly career. 

u In 1788 I became interested in a new religious 
movement, commenced at Boss Hill, in Kingston, un- 
der the labors of Anning Owen. Nearly all my fa- 
ther's family fell under the same influence, and from 
that time we were identified with the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. 

"In 1799, May 16th, I was married to Jacob Bed- 
ford, Esq. He died August 23d, 1849. I am now in 
my 85th year, July 13th, 1857." 



220 WYOMING. 



VI. 

INCIDENTS OF THE WAES IN THE LACKAWANNA POR- 
TION OF THE SETTLEMENT, RELATED BY MRS. 
MARTHA MARCY. 

The incidents recorded below have been communi- 
cated to us by the venerable Joseph Marcy, now — 
1858 — seventy-one years of age. He is the only sur- 
viving son of the lady upon whose authority they are 
now transmitted. 

Ebenezer Marcy came to the Yalley from Fishkill, 
on the Hudson, and settled upon the lands now owned 
by his grandchildren, situated below the Lackawanna 
bridge, and about three miles above the village of 
Pittston. A block-house was built by the settlers in 
1770 on the plain, in what is now called Upper Pitts- 
ton. After the Indian troubles had subsided, Mr. 
Marcy took possession of his house, which by some 
strange providence had escaped the flames. It was 
" a double log house," built in the style of the times, 
with a "back wall," against which, during the cold 
season, a large fire, made of logs, was kept burning 
day and night. In the corner, near the fire, stood that 
necessary article of Yankee furniture, "the dye-tub," 
in which the "blue stockings" were "dyed in the 
wool" or "in the yarn." The dye-tub usually consti- 
tuted a seat for some one, and it was upon this seat 
that the lad Joseph learned his lessons in the history 
of the olden time. 

When Mrs. Marcy had visitors who wished to hear 
about the Indians and the Pennamites, Joseph would 



MRS. MARCY. 221 

take his favorite seat, and listen with all the ears he 
had. After he had heard the stories a thousand and 
one times, they still produced the same excitement in 
his mind. He knew what was coming next, yet he 
listened, and gazed, and gaped with as much eagerness 
as if he had been listening to the romantic tales of a 
new novel. Ah ! they were tales of the sufferings and 
adventures of his father, mother, brothers, and sisters. 
These stories he now relates with the greatest particu- 
larity, and seems as familiar with them as with any 
portion of his own history. 

When John Butler arrived at Sutton's, he sent a 
scouting party down the river, who secured all the 
water-craft belonging to the Lackawanna people, and 
deposited them at the head of the island. The settlers 
at that point were consequently left without the means 
of crossing the Susquehanna, and this is the reason 
why several able-bodied and brave men were not in 
the battle, but were with their families in the fort on 
that fatal day. The fort consisted of a block-house, or 
probably three block-houses, surrounded by pickets 
made of split logs set in the ground and standing eight 
feet above the surface. Here the families who had 
settled on the Lackawanna, jaear its confluence with 
the Susquehanna, were quartered on the 3d of July, 
1778* ' 

Soon after the tide of battle had turned against the 
patriots, a man who had been wounded in one foot, 

* The following "Articles of Capitulation for three Forts at Lacu- 
wanack," dated "July 4, 1778," are published by Mr. Miner: 

"Art. 1st. That the different commanders of the said forts do im- 
mediately deliver them up, with all the arms, ammunition, and stores 
in the said forts. 

"Art. 2d. Major Butler promises that the lives of the men, wom- 
en, and children be preserved entire." 



222 WYOMING. 

and had managed to swim the river, brought over the 
sad tidings of the defeat and slaughter of the little 
army. After a few words upon the subject, he mount- 
ed a horse which belonged to Mr. Marcy, and laid his 
course across the mountains. All was stir, alarm, and 
confusion in the fort. The darkness of night came on, 
but not to hide from the eyes of the Lackawanna peo- 
ple the horrors of the scene which was being enacted 
on the west side of the Susquehanna, They saw across 
the river the Indians making preparations for their 
fiendish orgies. They kindled fires, and filled the air 
with their terrible yells. At length two prisoners 
were brought up. One was tied to a tree in a sitting 
posture, with his hands and feet bound to stakes driven 
in the ground, and a train of pine knots laid, extend- 
ing some twelve feet, and terminating at his bowels. 
The farther end of the train was fired, and then the 
Indians commenced dancing around the poor creature, 
while the flame gradually approached him, and he was 
filled with the most indescribable horror at its prog- 
ress. Splinters of pine knots were stuck into the flesh 
of the other and set on fire. The poor victims of sav- 
age cruelty shrieked, and called on God for help. 
Their wailings and the unearthly yells of the savages 
mingled together, and were wafted by the breeze across 
the plains, and echoed back from the hills. That was 
an awful night for the Lackawanna people. What 
would be their fate they could not foresee, but imme- 
diate flight was impossible. The best they could do 
was to throw themselves upon the mercy of the con- 
querors. 

The morning came, and they raised a sheet upon a 
pole on the river bank. The "flag of truce" was dis- 
covered, and several British officers, attended by a 



MRS. MARCY. 225 

posse of Indians, came over and demolished the pick- 
ets around the block-house, and the Indians painted 
the prisoners. The people had hid their provisions in 
secret places ; their flour and meal were concealed in 
hollow logs, and their meat was buried in the ground. 
A wretched old squaw soon came over, having seven- 
teen scalps strung on a stick. She spoke broken En- 
glish, and talked of being "dreadful tired," having, as 
she said, " been out all night scaling the Yankees." A 
jDlan was soon set on foot still further to torture the 
feelings of the prisoners. An old mare belonging to 
Mr. Marcy was brought up, and Mrs. Marcy's side-sad- 
dle placed upon her back, with the hind part before, 
and the crupper tied in the mane. The squaw was 
then seated upon the saddle astride, a looking-glass 
being held in one hand and the string of scalps in the 
other. In this plight the animal was led by one In- 
dian and driven by another back and forth before the 
fort, while the Indians hooted and laughed, and other- 
wise insulted the prisoners. There were men there 
who, if their wives and children had not been in the 
power of the savages, and they had had in hand their 
trusty rifles, would have sent a ball through the heart 
of the old limb of Satan, and run the hazard of dying 
the next moment. But, grinding their teeth, they 
smothered their wrath as well as they could. 

Parties of the enemy went and collected the horses 
and cattle, and turned them into the fields of grain ; 
this saved them the necessity of destroying the crops 
by other and more laborious means. The officers or- 
dered the prisoners to milk the cows and bring in the 
milk for their use. It was soon found that, without a 
resort to some stratagem to save a portion of the milk, 
the children in the fort must starve ; then the cows 

K2 



226 WYOMING, 

were left but half milked, and the operation was finish- 
ed under cover of the night. 

At evening the Indians made large fires of the pick- 
ets, and lay down before them, and soon fell into a 
dead sleep. This was the time for the prisoners to 
take their meal. The men stole away and finished 
milking the cows, while the women proceeded to bake 
their johnnycakes. The milk brought in and the 
cakes baked, the prisoners proceeded to take the only 
meal which they had the privilege of enjoying during 
the twenty-four hours. All this process of cooking and 
eating had to be conducted with the utmost silence 
and care. The prisoners were not cared for at all by 
the British officers, and could only furnish themselves 
and their helpless children with food, and avoid utter 
starvation, by stealth. Were not these British and 
Tories magnanimous conquerors ? 

On one occasion the prisoners were left by them- 
selves, and the wife of Zebulon Marcy resolved upon 
trying to bake a loaf of light bread. Just as her loaf 
was well done, it was announced that "an Indian was 
coming." The loaf was rolled in a towel, and hid in 
the foot of the bed. The Indian came in, and, snuffing 
and looking about, he said, " Me want bread." One of 
the women replied, "We have none." Continuing his 
snuffing, he said, "Ah! me smell 'em;" and, going di- 
rectly to the place where the loaf was deposited, he 
took it out. Mrs. Marcy cried, "You sha'n't have that 
bread : I want it to keep the children from starving ;" 
and, springing forward, she seized the stolen loaf by 
one end, and in the contest it was broken in two, she 
retaining her half, while the Indian seemed satisfied 
with his portion. Well, thought the brave lady, " Half 
a loaf is better than no bread," and so it was. 



MRS. MARCY. 227 

Butler and his men left the Valley a few days after 
the battle, but parties of Indians were prowling about, 
plundering property, and burning the houses of the 
settlers as opportunity served and their feelings in- 
clined them. About two weeks after the battle an 
Indian came to the fort and said, "Wild Indians come 
soon : kill Yankee and eat 'em," The settlers had grad- 
ually disappeared, and few besides the family of Eb- 
enezer Marcy were left. Mrs. Marcy was in a delicate 
state of health, and, besides, was lame in her feet from 
rheumatism ; but there seemed no alternative : she 
must undertake the journey across the mountains on 
foot. 

Mr. Marcy's family consisted of himself, his wife, and 
five small children, the oldest a girl of eleven years 
of age. There was but one other individual in the 
company, and that was an old lady still more of a crip- 
ple than Mrs. Marcy. The exigencies of the journey 
would necessarily require covering at night, and hence 
the necessity of taking along blankets. Mr. Marcy 
was the only individual in the company who could 
carry any burden. He made a large bundle, in which 
he had carefully stowed away a family Bible, which 
Mr. Joseph Marcy has now hi his possession, and pre- 
serves as a precious relic. It contains the family rec- 
ords, and settles some facts of public interest. All be- 
ing ready, Mr. Marcy shouldered his burden, and or- 
dered all hands to move on. 

The little company commenced their perilous and 
doubtful journey probably on the 20th of July. Their 
course lay through Jacob's Plains, up Laurel Kun to 
the path from Wilkesbarre to Stroudsburg, which they 
fell into on the mountain. They had nearly exhaust- 
ed their provisions, and had to be put on short allowr 



228 WYOMING. 

ance. They fed themselves mostly on the twigs of 
sassafras bushes, roots, and berries. Mrs. Marcy had a 
cane in one hand and a spikenard root in the other, 
and would frequently take a little of the root in her 
mouth and chew it, swallowing the juice, making it 
serve, as she ever after maintained that it did, the 
double purpose of food and medicine. On the even- 
ing of the 22d of July, "on the Tobyhanna Hill," Mrs. 
Marcy was taken ill, and Mr. Marcy left her and the 
old lady, while he went forward a short distance with 
the children, and deposited them in the bushes. He 
then returned, and soon he was the father of another 
child. The new-comer was a daughter, and was wel- 
comed and provided for as well as the circumstances 
would admit. Early in the morning Mrs. Marcy arose, 
and set off upon her journey with good courage, and, 
for her, at a brisk pace. The little piece of humanity 
which had been sent to them in the mountain was 
added to Mr. Marcy's burden, and that day they trav- 
eled the astonishing distance of sixteen miles, which 
brought them to Captain Spaulding's encampment. 
The captain kindly sent on two soldiers, each having 
a horse, to help on Mr. Marcy and his family as far as 
the Delaware. 

When they came to " Dingman's Ferry," they asked 
for lodging, but were told in reply, by the good man 
of the house, that "the Wyoming people had eaten 
him out of house and home," and he could not keep 
them. Mrs. Marcy sat on a log before the door nurs- 
ing her baby. "How old is that child?" asked the 
man. " Not quite two days," was the answer. " Good 
woman," said he, "you look tired; you ought not to 
go any farther, but I can not keep you." Then tak- 
ing from a shelf a loaf of bread, he gave them " the 



MRS. MARCY. 229 

half of a slice apiece," and said, " About two miles 
ahead you can get entertainment." They moved on, 
and found hospitality in the house of a farmer. 

In the evening a man drove briskly by in the di- 
rection of the Delaware. It was a man whom Mr. 
Jonathan Spencer — Mrs. Marcy's father — had sent on 
to meet Mr. Marcy and his family. The man, learning 
at the ferry that he had passed the company, returned 
the next morning, and now the severest of the labors 
and trials of the pilgrims were ended. Eight days after 
the birth of her child Mrs. Marcy reached her father's 
house, near Fiskkill, in much better condition, both 
physically and mentally, than could have been expected. 

Mrs. Marcy u was very tired," and took her bed; 
but how long may it be supposed that she kept it? 
A month or two, with good nursing and skillful med- 
ical aid? No, indeed; it was only "for the greater 
part of the next day." The condition of her children 
brought her to her feet again after a few hours of rest. 
When they left the Valley their clothes were " mend- 
ed up and were comfortable," but the long journey 
through the wilderness, often penetrating the thick 
brush and briers in quest of berries to save them from 
absolute starvation, reduced their garments to shreds 
and tatters. Mrs. Marcy's old friends and neighbors 
made large contributions in "old clothing," and "the 
girls" came in and helped her sew, and "in about a 
week" the little folks were all " decently clad." 

The little "woods girl," as she was called, was an 
object of no little curiosity. Mrs. Marcy "felt thank- 
ful to Grod for her strange preservation and that of her 
infant, and for the deliverance of herself and family 
from the tomahawk and scalping-knife ; and, in accord- 
ance with her feelings, she called her girl Thankful." 



230 WYOMING. 

The child lived to the age of seventeen, and then died 
with measles. 

The Marcjs were among the persecuted Yankees 
during the Pennamite and Yankee wars. Mrs. Marcy 
used to tell a ludicrous story of some of Armstrong's 
men, who came up to Lackawanna in the way of ful- 
filling their mission. They seemed to be hard pressed 
for provisions. They found " an old sow with a litter 
of young pigs ;" they butchered and devoured the 
whole family. Not yet satisfied, or desiring something 
in the line of poultry and eggs, they took " an old hen 
that had been setting seven days," and they cooked 
and devoured the hen and her stock of eggs. There 
must have been a little touch of the savage in these 
zealous votaries of the land-jobbers of Pennsylvania. 

At the time Armstrong was disarming the Yankee 
settlers, two of his officers visited Lackawanna, and, 
entering Mr. Marcy's house, inquired for arms. There 
were seven guns in the house, which they proposed to 
disable by taking off the locks. Mrs. Marcy remon- 
strated against their proceedings, informing them that 
" the men folks" were not at home, and declaring that 
it was not handsome for them to take advantage of the 
circumstances. At that moment young John Carey, 
one of her boarders, came in. Seizing his rifle, he 
cocked it, and, pointing the muzzle toward the unwel- 
come visitors, he said, with a firm tone, " Stop your 
work, or you will have what there is in my rifle." 
The rifle was not loaded, but the threat was enough. 
The gallant subalterns turned about and left. The 
arms which were thus saved from being made useless 
subsequently did good service in the Yankee cause. 

Mrs. Marcy outlived her husband, and finally died 
full of years and much respected. 



MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT. 231 



VII. 

MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT'S ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE 
AND FLIGHT. 

[Taken from the Presbyterian.'] 

Mrs. Sylvia Seybolt, who now resides with her 
son-in-law, Joshua Mullock, Esq., of Mount Hope, 
Orange County, New York, was one of the occupants 
of Forty Fort at the time of the massacre. She was 
then fourteen years old, making her now eighty-seven. 
In the spring of 1775, her father, Jedediah Stephens, 
with his family, consisting of five sons, five daughters, 
and two sons-in-law, removed from Canaan, Connecti- 
cut, and settled in the Valley of the Susquehanna. 
Here he prospered abundantly for a little more than 
three years, when this beautiful vale was laid waste. 

During the progress of the Kevolution, the boys re- 
siding in the Valley of the age of sixteen and under 
had voluntarily formed themselves into a military 
company, and had elected from their own number 
William Mason for their captain, and for lieutenant, 
Kufus Stephens, a brother of Mrs. Seybolt. These 
heroic boys formed part of that ill-fated band that left 
the fort under Colonel Zebulon Butler, and fell a prey 
to Tory and Indian barbarity. "While the battle was 
raging, an Indian, pleased with the appearance of Ma- 
son, took him under his protection, intending to save 
his life ; but, being afterward told by a Tory that he 
was captain of a rebel company, the Indians kindled 
a fire, and, with fiendish delight, placed him on it, and 
held him there with their bayonets until life was ex- 



232 WYOMING. 

tinct. Lieutenant Stephens was found dead, his body 
being literally covered with bullet and tomahawk 
wounds. 

An older brother, Jedediah Stephens, was among 
the few who escaped. "While running toward the 
river, two Indians sprang suddenly out of the bushes 
and fired upon him, one bullet passing through his 
clothes between his side and arm. One of the In- 
dians then commenced reloading his gun, while the 
other gave full chase. The latter soon overtook and 
attempted to seize him, but Stephens, eluding his 
grasp, felled him by a blow with the breech of his 
gun, and struck him a second blow after his fall, which 
doubtless killed him. He soon reached the river and 
plunged in ; here he was again fired at, and again es- 
caped unhurt. He swam across the river, and secreted 
himself under the boughs of a tree that had fallen into 
the water. In this shelter he remained until after 
dark, when he recrossed the river and entered the fort. 

The next day after the surrender of the fort, an In- 
dian, with a large knife in his hand, came up to Ste- 
phens, and, taking hold of him, says to him, "White 
brother, in the battle yesterday you killed my brother, 
now me kill you." Stephens denied, at the same time 
saying, " We are all good brothers now." The Indian 
then examined him thoroughly to see if he was not 
wounded ; but, with all his thirst for vengeance, he fail- 
ed to recognize him as the slayer of his brother, say- 
ing as he let him go, ""Well, me don't know; he look 
like him." 

While the plundering was in progress, Mrs. Sey- 
bolt saw an Indian break open her sister's trunk, in 
which he found a bottle of camphor. He took it up, 
and, smelling of it, asked if it was poison. The owner 



MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT. 233 

replied that it was not ; he then made her taste it, 
after which he drank it off, and went and lay down by 
the river. The doctor was soon informed of the cir- 
cumstance, and, on examining him, pronounced him in 
a dying state. 

Five days after the massacre the survivors were or- 
dered to leave the valley. They all set out on foot 
across the Great Swamp, in which they lay during 
two nights ; on the third they arrived at Stroudsburg, 
near the Delaware. In this company was a sister of 
Mrs. Seybolt, with a child only two weeks old. From 
Stroudsburg they proceeded to the Hudson, near 
Newburg, where they obtained a conveyance as far as 
Sharon, Connecticut, in wagons employed in carrying 
provisions to the American army. From Sharon they 
again traveled on foot until they reached their former 
homes. 

The incidents related above I received from the lips 
of Mrs. Seybolt a few days since, and as every thing 
connected with the Eevolution is filled with interest, I 
hope they may prove acceptable to your readers. Al- 
though there is here and there a survivor of the Eev- 
olution, yet we must soon cease to hear these thrilling 
tales from the lips of those who were participants or 
eye-witnesses. May we prize as we should the pre- 
cious boon of liberty which cost our forefathers so 
much suffering. — W. F. M. 



234 WYOMING 



vni. 

THE CAPTIVE GIRL, FRANCES SLOCUM. 

Making captives, particularly of children, and 
adopting them as their own, is one of the laws of In- 
dian warfare. Usually the little captive is adopted by 
a mother who has lost a child. If a son falls in battle, 
or a daughter perishes by hunger or fatigue, or dies by 
disease, the vacancy, if possible, is supplied by some 
pale-faced prisoner, who is imagined to bear some dis- 
tant resemblance to the lost one. An attachment form- 
ed in the mind of a savage female for a beautiful child 
which she had been accustomed to fondle in time of 
peace, has led to the capture of the coveted object when 
war has broken out. But it is probable that the main 
ground of this species of plunder is a part of the system 
of cruel vengeance with which the savage heart delights 
to glut itself for real or supposed wrongs. The unedu- 
cated minds of the Indians enter into no analysis of civ- 
il society, distinguishing between the innocent and the 
guilty, but lay to the charge of the whites in general 
all the wrongs which they may have received at the 
hands of individuals, and often, by the mode of redress 
here referred to, strike the innocent — even break the 
hearts of unoffending mothers. The savage mind con- 
demns in the gross ; and for robberies and murders in- 
flicted on them by lawless banditti, heartless specula- 
tors, or oppressive governmental expatriation, they 
hold the white race, generally and singularly, respon- 
sible. Hence they take sweet vengeance upon all 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 235 

white individuals or communities, as occasion offers, 
for their numerous and grievous wrongs. 

When a boy in our native town, near " the sources 
of the Susquehanna," in the State of New York, we 
knew a young man who was with the Indians from the 
commencement to the close of the Eevolutionary war. 
He was the son of our father's next-door neighbor, and 
we were a close observer of his manners and habits, 
seeing him every day, and often spending hours, and 
even days, in his company. "We often listened to his 
romantic story at our father's fireside, both from him 
and from his old mother. 

Daniel M'Allum — ordinarily called Dan M'Allum, 
and Indian Dan — was stolen when he was two years 
and a half old from the head of Eed Creek, Middle- 
field. Before the commencement of hostilities be- 
tween the parent government and the colonies, an old 
squaw was in the habit of coming from an Indian camp 
in the swamp, which lay hard by, and spending hours 
with "Aunt Molly M'Allum," and caressing little Dan, 
showing him. her trinkets, and allowing him to play 
with them. When the war broke out, the savage 
woman set her heart on making the child a prize. She 
was hid in the brush for days, waiting for an opportuni- 
ty to effect her object. At length the little fellow was 
taken by his father to " the sugar-bush" in the month 
of March, and becoming weary, and wishing to go to 
his mother, he was put into the path to return alone to 
the house, which was only a few rods distant. The 
squaw slid from her hiding-place, seized her prey, and 
bore him away. The mother was at ease until near 
night, when her husband came in, and, to their great 
consternation, it was discovered that the child was spir- 
ited away, and the agency by which he had disappear- 



236 WYOMING. 

ed was shrewdly suspected. It might be that a wild 
beast had devoured him, but it was deemed more prob- 
able that he had fallen into the hands of the Indians. 
The woods were scoured, and the cry for help sent 
through the settlements, but all in vain. The Mo- 
hawks, and with them the squaw with her prize, had 
fled to the north, and the child was given up for lost. 
At the close of the war he was a stout lad and a 
perfect Indian. When the prisoners were required to 
be given up, Dan said his old " Indian mother cried 
bitterly ;" but there was no evading the requisition of 
the British authorities, and she made her preparations 
for the separation. She filled a little bag with parched 
corn and dried venison, and, putting it in his hand, 
she went with him. near to the place where the prison- 
ers were rendezvoused — either on the Mohawk Kiver 
or at Cherry Yalley, we are not certain which — and, 
pointing him out the way, she flung her blanket over 
her head, and turned about and ran. He paused, look- 
ed after her, and his heart almost came into his mouth. 
He maintained that no one could have felt deeper sor- 
row at burying his own mother. He could not endure 
the separation, and set off at full speed after her. She, 
however, managed to elude him, and he was found by 
some one in the path, giving boisterous vent to his 
sorrow, and was taken to the depot of the prisoners, 
where his father found him and bore him to his 
mother. 

And now another trial awaited the poor boy. The 
usages of civilization were like the chains of slavery to 
him. To wear pants and jacket, and sleep upon a bed, 
and to eat bread, and salt meat cooked in an iron pan 
— all this was so strange — every thing so unnatural, 
that he sighed and cried, and said a thousand times 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 237 

over, '"Oh. that I was again in the wild woods, chas- 
ing the deer and the bear, and enjoying the luxury of 
sleeping upon the ground, under a blanket, with my 
feet before a great warm fire I" 

"Dan M'Allum," so long as we knew him, which 
was until we entered our eighteenth year, exhibited 
strong traits of Indian character. He was fond of hunt- 
ing, loved rum, would have his Indian pow-wows, and, 
when under the influence of the intoxicating draught, 
his Indian whoop rang through the neighborhood, but 
excited no terror. Dan was not quarrelsome when 
sober, and when intoxicated he had neither the power 
nor tact of a warrior or a bully. When so drunk that 
he could not stand, he would ride his horse upon a 
run perfectly erect, and scarcely ever fell from his 
horse's back. Often have we heard the poor fellow 
say, apparently from the bottom of his heart, " I wish 
to God I had never left the Indians, for I was a good 
Indian, but I shall never make a white man." He 
finally married and settled, and his character became 
much modified by the kindly influences of home, and 
the independence and associations gathering round the 
husband and the father. When he was no longer re- 
garded as "a fool," "an Indian booby," and the like, 
his manhood developed, and he became a respectable 
citizen ; but the process of transformation was slow and 
painful. 

A curious fact in this case was that the poor Indian 
captive seemed not to have much affection for his real 
mother. He never made a secret of the fact that he 
loved his " Indian mother" the best. He declared that 
the moment in which she tore herself from him was 
the most sorrowful moment of his life, and her tears, 
sobs, and wild shrieks, as she ran away, were the very 



238 WYOMING. 

sorest of his remembrances. Such is habit, such edu- 
cation, such the impressions of childhood. How per- 
fectly imbedded in the human heart is the image of 
that being whose watchful care and sympathies are as- 
sociated with our earliest recollections, although it be 
the image of a wild savage woman ! 

Dan M'Allum is not the hero of our story, but a 
specimen of a class, the whole of which constitute a 
series of illustrations of the principles of savage life, 
and specimens of human nature in its vast general- 
ization. The more particular relations of his Indian 
life we simply recollect were curious and interesting, 
but the details are not now sufficiently clear in our 
mind for record, and, with the brief notice of his case 
which we have taken, we shall dismiss it, and proceed 
to another case characterized by a different class of cir- 
cumstances and a different sequel. 

Among the enterprising emigrants from the east to 
the famous Valley of Wyoming was a member of the 
society of Friends by the name of Jonathan Slocum. 
The place of his previous residence was Warwick, 
Ehode Island. He emigrated in 1777, with his wife 
and nine children. The road through the swamp had 
now been so far improved as to allow, although with 
great difficulty, wagons to pass. Mr. Slocum removed 
with his family and effects in a large covered wagon. 
He located himself near the fort, on lands a portion of 
which is now in possession of the family, within the 
present borough of Wilkesbarre, near the public 
square. Mr. Slocum, being from principle a noncom- 
batant, considered himself and his family comparative- 
ly free from danger from the attacks of the savages. 
His son Giles, not practicing upon the principles in 



FKANCES SLOCUM. 239 

which he had been trained at home, took up arms with 
the settlers in defense of their hearths and homes 
against the anticipated attacks of the Indians and To- 
ries. He was in the famous Indian battle in 1778, 
and it is supposed that this circumstance was the occa- 
sion of the terrible vengeance taken upon the family. 
The battle had taken place in July, and thenceforward, 
until the conclusion of peace with England, parties of 
Indians continued to visit the Yalley to steal, make 
prisoners, kill, and scalp, as opportunity offered. 

On the second day of November of this year, a party 
of Delaware Indians visited Wyoming, and directed 
their way to Mr. Slocum's residence. Nathan Kings- 
ley had been made prisoner by the Indians, and his 
wife and two sons were taken in by Mr. Slocum, and 
afforded the protection and comforts of a home. When 
the Indians came near, they saw the two Kingsley boys 
grinding a knife before the door. The elder of the lads 
was dressed in a soldier's coat, which, it is presumed 
was the special reason of his being marked as a victim 
One of the savages took deadly aim at this young man 
and he fell. The discharge of the gun alarmed Mrs 
Slocum, and she ran to the door, when she saw the In 
dian scalping the young man with the knife which he 
had been grinding. She secreted herself until she saw 
a stalwart Indian lay hold of her son Ebenezer, a little 
lad, who, by an injury in one of his feet, had been made 
lame. The idea that the little fellow would fail to 
keep up with the party, and would be cruelly butch- 
ered, rushed with such force upon the mind of the 
mother that she forgot all considerations of personal 
safety, and, running up to the Indian, and pointing 
at the foot of the boy, she exclaimed, " The child is 
lame ; he can do thee no good." Little Frances, about 



2-iO WYOMING. 

five years old, had hid, as she supposed, under the 
stairs, but had been discovered by the Indians. The 
savage dropped the boy and seized the little girl, and 
took her up in his arms. All the entreaties of the 
mother in this case were treated with savage scorn. 
The oldest daughter ran away with her youngest 
brother, about two years old, with such speed and in 
such affright that the savages, after yelling hideously 
at her, roared out laughing. They took the remaining 
Kingsley boy and a colored girl, and away they went, 
little Frances screaming to " mamma" for help, hold- 
ing the locks of hair from her eyes with one hand, and 
stretching out the other. 

There were three Indians in the gang, and each 
having a prisoner, they fled to the mountain. An 
alarm was given at the fort, which was not more than 
a hundred rods from Mr. Slocum's house, but the wily 
savages escaped with such celerity, and hid themselves 
so securely, that no traces of them could be found. 
That was a gloomy evening in the Slocum family. 
Mr. Slocum was from home when the descent upon 
his peaceful dwelling was made by the ruthless sav- 
ages. He returned to see the gory corpse of young 
Kingsley, and to find Mrs. Slocum writhing in agony 
on account of poor little Frances, who was in the 
hands of a band of Indians, whom her phrensied imag- 
ination pictured out as so many demons just let loose 
from Tophet. Mr. Slocum was petrified with horror ; 
but the deep current of his grief, with characteristic 
self-control, was not allowed to break over all its natu- 
ral barriers. Sobs and broken sentences gave charac- 
ter to the scene around that desolate hearth. Sleep 
fled from that family circle. The last look at the in- 
nocent little creature, with outstretched hands, and 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 243 

streaming eyes, and disheveled locks, and her shrieks 
of "mamma! mamma!" haunted their imaginations 
like ghosts of darkness. And then the question, which 
no human reason could solve, was, " What would be- 
come of the child?" Would she be cruelly murdered? 
or would she be worn out with fatigue ? or would she 
suffer a lingering death from want of comfortable food 
and clothing? Any supposition which was at all 
probable seemed worse than death. The heart-strick- 
en family passed a little more than a month in sad- 
ness and gloom, not then to find relief to their aching 
hearts, but to feel another blow from savage hands still 
more terrible. 

The venerable historian of Wyoming, Hon. Charles 
Miner, says : " The cup of vengeance was not yet full. 
December 16th, Mr. Slocum and Isaac Tripp, Esq., his 
father-in-law, an aged man, with William Slocum, a 
youth of nineteen or twenty, were feeding cattle from 
a stack in the meadow, in sight of the fort, when they 
were fired upon by Indians. Mr. Slocum was shot 
dead ; Mr. Tripp wounded, speared, and tomahawked ; 
both were scalped. William, wounded by a spent ball 
in the heel, escaped and gave the alarm, but the alert 
and wily foe had retreated to his hiding-place in the 
mountain. This deed, bold as it was cruel, was per- 
petrated within the town plot, in the centre of which 
the fortress was located. Thus, in little more than a 
month, Mrs. Slocum had lost a beloved child, carried 
into captivity; the doorway had been drenched in 
blood by the murder of an inmate of the family ; two 
others of the household had been taken away prison- 
ers ; and now her husband and father were both strick- 
en down to the grave, murdered and mangled by the 
merciless Indians. Verily, the annals of Indian atroc- 



244 WYOMING. 

ities, written in blood, record few instances of desola- 
tion and woe to equal this." 

The husband and the father were dead, and their ash- 
es reposed beneath the green turf. Time gradually mod- 
ified the poignancy of the widow's grief, occasioned by 
the cruel death of her loved husband and venerated fa- 
ther; but Frances, poor child ! she knew not where she 
was. Suspense more terrible than death hung over her 
fate. The lapse of time only increased the vividness of 
the traces of memory relating to the minutest circum- 
stances connected, nearly or remotely, with the sad trag- 
edy of her capture. The mother called up all the little 
griefs and disappointments which family discipline had 
inflicted upon her dear child. One circumstance dis- 
tressed her almost incurably. Frances had a pair of 
new shoes, and, as a matter of economy, she had been 
required to lay them up for colder weather. She went 
away with bare feet, and in that condition would doubt- 
less be obliged to travel rough roads, and perhaps 
through the frost and snow to make long journeys. 
"Oh! if the poor little creature only had her shoes!" 
The little shoes were a source of torture to the soul of 
the bereaved mother for long and weary years. 

Time passed, and Mrs. Slocum's sons had become 
prosperous business men ; and peace having been con- 
cluded with Great Britain, and every effort made upon 
the part of Congress to conciliate the Indian tribes, the 
young men began to meditate serious efforts to recover 
their sister, or, at least, to ascertain her fate. In 1784, 
two of the brothers visited Niagara, and made inqui- 
ries of the Indians, and offered them liberal rewards 
if they would give any information concerning their 
sister. Their mission was without the least shadow of 
success, no trace of the lost one having been discover- 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 245 

ed. They returned, after an absence of several weeks, 
with the impression that Frances was dead. They 
thought it almost impossible that the secret should be 
kept if Frances were above ground, especially as a re- 
ward had been offered for the information which would 
be exceedingly tempting to the cupidity of the Indians. 
They did not consider that, when an Indian undertakes 
to keep a secret, nothing can break the seal of his lips, 
nor especially the criminality and disgrace of betray- 
ing to white men secrets confided by Indians. Little 
Frances was extensively known among the Canadian 
and Western Indians, but she was now a treasure which 
Indians felt a common interest in concealing. 

Four years subsequently the Slocums were on a 
search among the Western Indians for several months, 
Indian agents and traders giving them every facility 
in their researches, and again offering the large reward 
of five hundred dollars for any information with regard 
to their sister's whereabouts, but all to no purpose. 

In 1789, when a large number of Indians assembled 
at Tioga Point to make a treaty with Colonel Proctor, 
and a large number of prisoners were brought in to be 
surrendered to their friends, Mrs. Slocum made a jour- 
ney, with great labor, to the place, and, after weeks of 
examination among the prisoners, found no one she 
could own as Frances. 

Still the bereaved mother entertained the idea that 
her child was alive, and might, after all, be found. The 
zeal of the brothers in the search did not decline with 
the lapse of years, and the four brothers undertook an- 
other expedition in 1797, and were traveling in the 
western wilderness, among the Indian settlements, for 
nearly the whole summer. They conversed with the 
Indians — offered, as they had done before, the reward 



246 WYOMING. 

of five hundred dollars for any information with regard 
to their sister: they found captives and examined 
them, but Frances they neither found nor heard from. 

A female captive, hearing of the efforts made by the 
Slocums to recover their lost one, and hoping that she 
might be recognized as the real Frances, came to Mrs. 
Slocum, and told her that she was taken prisoner some- 
where on the Susquehanna when a child, and she was 
anxious to find her friends. She knew not the name 
of her father, she knew not her own name, but she had 
come to see if she, Mrs. Slocum, was not her real moth- 
er. Mrs. Slocum saw at once that it was not Frances, 
but bade her welcome. "Stay with me," said Mrs. 
Slocum, " as long as thee pleases ; perhaps some one 
else may extend the like kindness to my dear Fran- 
ces." The poor stranger, after a few months, finding 
herself regarded as a mere object of charity, without 
the sympathies and attachments of natural relation- 
ship, left, and the Slocums heard no more of her. 

Mrs. Slocum went down to the grave without find- 
ing the least trace of her lost one, but left with her 
sons a charge never to give up the search so long as 
the possibility remained of their recovering their sis- 
ter, or their learning the circumstances of her story or 
her fate. Mrs. Slocum's death occurred in 1807. 

When the mission among the Wyandots became a 
matter of public interest, and the chiefs Between-the- 
Logs and Menuncu were converted, the report that 
Between-the-Logs had a white woman for his wife, the 
idea of the possibility of her being the lost Frances 
Slocum induced Mr. Joseph Slocum, attended by a 
nephew, to visit the mission. In 1826 they made a 
weary and expensive journey to Upper Sandusky, and 
found the woman, but were convinced that she was 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 247 

not Frances. They were treated with great hospitality 
and kindness, and received strong impressions with re- 
gard to the influence of Christianity upon the moral 
character and social condition of the Wyandot Indians. 
Hope had been fondly cherished in the mind of the 
Slocums of some light upon the history or fate of 
Frances for many long years, but all efforts to gain in- 
formation with regard to her having utterly failed, 
they began to despair. They had spent time and 
money ; they had performed long and perilous jour- 
neys ; they had enlisted Indian agents and traders in 
the object, but not the slightest trace, as yet, had been 
found of the little captive. The last they knew of her 
was that she was borne away by a stout Indian, who 
disappeared among the trees and shrubs, while the 
shrieks of the child died away in the distance. From 
that moment an impenetrable cloud of darkness had 
enshrouded her story, which all efforts had failed to 
penetrate. The probability of the removal of the veil 
of mystery from the subject was now becoming so ex- 
ceedingly faint, if it had not, indeed, wholly passed 
away, that the search was given over, and the subject 
ceased to be matter of conversation, excepting as the 
capture of the child, and the great efforts which had 
been made for her discovery, were connected with 
the history of the classic vale. This was the con- 
dition of things when a new scene opens to our vis- 
ion, apparently by accident, but really under the guid- 
ing hand of Providence. A train of circumstances 
brought to light the whereabouts of the long-lost 
Frances Slocum. 



248 WYOMING. 

THE DISCOVERY OF FRANCES. 

Colonel Ewing, a gentleman connected with the 
public service among the Indians, having acquired 
the language in use among the Western tribes, and 
having business with these tribes, made frequent jour- 
neys through the wilderness and among the Indian 
settlements. On one of these journeys he happened 
to be benighted near what was called "The Deaf 
Man's Village," on the Missisinewa, a branch of 
the Wabash. He asked for and received the hospi- 
talities of a respectable Indian dwelling. The mis- 
tress of the house was a venerable and respectable- 
looking Indian woman, to whom great deference was 
paid by -the whole family circle, composed of children 
and grandchildren. Colonel Ewing was weary and 
rather indisposed, and, after taking some refreshments, 
he laid himself down to rest upon some skins in a cor- 
ner of the room. The family disappeared, with the 
exception of the venerable head of the circle, and she 
lingered, being busy with some of her small arrange- 
ments for the night. The colonel's attention was at- 
tracted by the color of her skin and hair, and, shrewdly 
suspecting that she was a white woman, he commenced 
conversation with her. She said she was a white wom- 
an, and was carried into captivity by the Indians 
when a child, and her father's name was Slocum. She 
had never revealed her history before, for fear that her 
white relations might come and take her away. But 
she was now old, and should not stay much longer; 
and she was willing, if any of them were alive, that 
they should know where she was. 

The colonel, presuming that the information which 
had been communicated to him might be of great im- 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 249 

portancc to persons still living, concluded to take meas- 
ures to make the matter public. He accordingly ad- 
dressed the following letter to the postmaster of the 
city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania : 

" Logansport, Indiana, January 20, 1835. 

" Dear Sir, — In the hope that some good may re- 
sult from it, I have taken this means of giving to your 
fellow-citizens — say the descendants of the early set- 
tlers of the Susquehanna — the following information ; 
and if there be any now living whose name is Slocum, 
to them, I hope, the following may be communicated 
through the public prints of your place. 

"There is now living near this place, among the 
Miami tribe of Indians, an aged white woman, who a 
few days ago told me, while I lodged in the camp one 
night, that she was taken away from her father's house, 
on or near the Susquehanna Kiver, when she was 
very young — say from five to eight years old, as she 
thinks — by the Delaware Indians, who were then hos- 
tile toward the whites. She says her father's name was 
Slocum ; that he was a Quaker, rather small in stature, 
and wore a large-brimmed hat ; was of sandy hair and 
light complexion, and much freckled; that he lived 
about half a mile from a town where there was a fort ; 
that they lived in a wooden house of two stories high, 
and had a spring near the house. She says three Dela- 
wares came to the house in the daytime, when all were 
absent but herself, and perhaps two other children: 
her father and brothers were absent making hay. The 
Indians carried her off, and she was adopted into a 
family of Delawares, who raised her and treated her as 
their own child. They died about forty years ago, 
somewhere in Ohio. She was then married to a Mi- 

L2 



250 WYOMING. 

ami, by whom she had four children ; two of them are 
now living — they are both daughters — and she lives 
with them. Her husband is dead; she is old and 
feeble, and thinks she will not live long. 

" These considerations induced her to give the pres- 
ent history of herself, which she would never do be- 
fore, fearing that her kindred would come and force 
her away. She has lived long and happy as an In- 
dian, and, but for her color, would not be suspected of 
being any thing else than such. She is very respect- 
able and wealthy, sober and honest. Her name is 
without reproach. She says her father had a large 
family, say eight children in all — six older than her- 
self, one younger, as well as she can recollect ; and she 
doubts not there are yet living many of their descend- 
ants, but seems to think that all her brothers and sis- 
ters must be dead, as she is very old herself, not far 
from the age of eighty. She thinks she was taken 
prisoner before the two last wars, which must mean 
the Kevolutionary war, as Wayne's war and the late 
war have been since that one. She has entirely lost 
her mother tongue, and speaks only in Indian, which 
I also understand, and she gave me a full history of 
herself. 

" Her own Christian name she has forgotten, but says 
her father's name was Slocum, and he was a Quaker. 
She also recollects that it was upon the Susquehanna 
Eiver that they lived, but don't recollect the name of 
the town near which they lived. I have thought that 
from this letter you might cause something to be in- 
serted in the newspapers of your country that might 
possibly catch the eye of some of the descendants of 
the Slocum family, who have knowledge of a girl hav- 
ing been carried off by the Indians some seventy years 



FRANCES SLOOUM. 251 

ago. This they might know from family tradition. 
If so, and they will come here, I will carry them where 
they may see the object of my letter alive and happy, 
though old and far advanced in life. 

" I can form no idea whereabout upon the Susque- 
hanna River this family could have lived at that early 
period, namely, about the time of the Revolutionary 
war, but perhaps you can ascertain more about it. If 
so, I hope you will interest yourself, and, if possible, 
let her brothers and sisters, if any be alive — if not, their 
children — know where they may once more see a rela- 
tive whose fate has been wrapped in mystery for seven- 
ty years, and for whom her bereaved and afflicted pa- 
rents doubtless shed many a bitter tear. They have 
long since found their graves, though their lost child 
they never found. I have been much affected with 
the disclosure, and hope the surviving friends may ob- 
tain, through your goodness, the information I desire 
for them. If I can be of any service to them, they 
may command me. In the mean time, I hope you will 
excuse me for the freedom I have taken with you, a 
total stranger, and believe me to be, sir, with much re- 
spect, your obedient servant, 

"Geo. W. Ewing." 

The letter reached its destination, but the post- 
master, considering it a hoax, flung it by, and for two 
years it lay among a quantity of old letters and papers 
in the office which were deemed worthless. There 
was a providence in the discovery of the lost one, and 
will that providence, which was concerned in the first 
development, allow the light to die out, and the whole 
matter to be hid from the vision of those so deeply in- 
terested in the revelation ? We shall see. The post- 



252 WYOMING. 

master died, and, for some reason — possibly mere curi- 
osity — his wife overhauled the mass of old papers be- 
longing to the office, among which she found and read 
Colonel Ewing's letter. She was more confiding than 
her husband in the truthfulness of the tale, and she 
sent the letter to the editor of the Intelligencer, by 
whom it was published. Here providence seems to 
have again interfered, and saved the letter from final 
oblivion. Another interesting fact worthy of special 
attention is, that the letter came to hand just in time 
to make its appearance in an extra number contain- 
ing some temperance documents, and these were sent 
to the clergymen generally through that part of the 
state. One of these fell into the hands of the Rev. 
Samuel Bowman, a native of Wilkesbarre, and inti- 
mately acquainted with the Slocum family. He had 
from his childhood been accustomed to hear the mel- 
ancholy story of the captivity of little Frances Slocum, 
and well knew the efforts which the brothers had made 
to find her. He immediately mailed one of these 
papers to her brother, who lived in Wilkesbarre, and 
the wonderful development which the letter contained 
flung the whole community into a state of excitement. 
There was no father or mother living to say " Frances 
is yet alive, and I will go and see her before I die," 
but there were brothers, a sister, and a large circle of 
nephews and nieces, whose hearts leaped for joy at 
the prospect of at least learning the veritable history 
of Frances, who had been for sixty years in savage life, 
but utterly lost to her kindred and friends. 

A correspondence ensued between Jonathan J. Slo- 
cum, Esq., son of Mr. Joseph Slocum, and Colonel 
Ewing, which speaks for itself, and here follows: 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 253 

" Wilkesbarre, Penn., Augusts, 1837. 

" George W. Ewing, Esq. : 

" Dear Sir, — At the suggestion of my father and 
other relations, I have taken the liberty to write to you, 
although an entire stranger. 

11 We have received, but a few days since, a letter 
written by you to a gentleman in Lancaster, of this 
state, upon a subject of deep and intense interest to 
our family. How the matter should have lain so long 
wrapped in obscurity we can not conceive. An aunt 
of mine — sister of my father — was taken away when 
five years old by the Indians, and since then we have 
only had vague and indistinct rumors upon the sub- 
ject. Your letter we deem to have entirely revealed 
the whole matter, and set every thing at rest. The 
description is so perfect, and the incidents (with the 
exception of her age) so correct, that we feel confident. 

" Steps will be taken immediately to investigate the 
matter, and we will endeavor to do all in our power to 
restore a lost relative who has been sixty years in In- 
dian bondage. 

" Your friend and obedient servant, 

"Jon. J. Slocum." 

"Logansport, Indiana, August 26, 1837. 

" Jon. J. Slocum, Esq., Wilkesbarre : 
" Dear Sir, — I have the pleasure of acknowledging 
the receipt of your letter of the 8th instant, and in an- 
swer can add, that the female I spoke of in January, 
1835, is still alive ; nor can I for a moment doubt but 
that she is the identical relative that has been so long 
lost to your family. 

" I feel much gratified to think that I have been thus 
instrumental in disclosing to yourself and friends such 



254 WYOMING. 

facts in relation to her as will enable you to visit her 
and satisfy yourselves more fully. She recovered 
from the temporary illness by which she was afflicted 
about the time I spent the night with her in January, 
1835, and which was, no doubt, the cause that induced 
her to speak so freely of her early captivity. 

11 Although she is now, by long habit, an Indian, 
and her manners and customs precisely theirs, yet she 
will doubtless be happy to see any of you, and I my- 
self will take great pleasure in accompanying you to 
the house. Should you come out for that purpose, I 
advise you to repair directly to this place ; and should 
it so happen that I should be absent at the time, you 
will find others who can take you to her. Bring with 
you this letter ; show it to James T. Miller, of Peru, 
Ind., a small town not far from this place. He knows 
her well. He is a young man whom we have raised. 
He speaks the Miami tongue, and will accompany you 
if I should not be at home. Inquire for the old white 
woman, mother-in-law to Brouriette, living on the 
Missisinewa River, about ten miles above its mouth. 
There you will find the long-lost sister of your father, and, 
as I before stated, you will not have to blush on her 
account. She is highly respectable, and her name as 
an Indian is without reproach. Her daughter, too, and 
her son-in-law, Brouriette, who is also a half-blood, 
being part French, are both very respectable and in- 
teresting people — none in the nation are more so. As 
Indians they live well, and will be pleased to see you. 
Should you visit here this fall, I may be absent, as I 
purpose starting for New York in a few days, and 
shall not be back till some time in October. But this 
need not stop you ; for, although I should be gratified 
to see you, yet it will be sufficient to learn that I 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 255 

have furthered your wishes in this truly interesting 
matter. 

" The very kind manner in which you have been 
pleased to speak of me shall be fully appreciated. 

" There perhaps are men who could have heard her 
story unmoved, but for me, I could not ; and when I 
reflected that there was, perhaps, still lingering on this 
side of the grave some brother or sister of that ill-fated 
woman, to whom such information would be deeply 
interesting, I resolved on the course which I adopted, 
and entertained the fond hope that my letter, if ever it 
should go before the public, would attract the attention 
of some one interested. In this it seems, at last, I have 
not been disappointed, although I had long since sup- 
posed it had failed to effect the object for which I wrote 
it. Like you, I regret that it should have been delay- 
ed so long, nor can I conceive how any one should 
neglect to publish such a letter. 

"As to the age of this female, I think she herself is 
mistaken, and that she is not so old as she imagines 
herself to be. Indeed, I entertain no doubt but that 
she is the same person that your family have mourned 
after for more than half a century past. 
" Your obedient humble servant, 

"George W. Ewing." 

The way was now plain, and there was no delay in 
taking measures to visit the locality where, it was 
now nearly reduced to a certainty, the Slocums would 
find their long-lost sister. Mr. Isaac Slocum and Mrs. 
Mary Town resided in Ohio, but not in the same 
neighborhood. It was arranged by correspondence 
that Mr. Joseph Slocum should visit Ohio by private 
conveyance, take Mrs. Town in his carriage, and that 



256 WYOMING. 

they should meet their brother Isaac somewhere near 
the " Deaf Man's Village," perhaps in the nearest white 
settlement. Isaac pushed on by public conveyance, 
and, accompanied by Mr. Miller, the interpreter, went 
directly to the residence of the old woman described 
by Colonel Ewing. He found her, to all appearance, 
a perfect Indian. He had fixed in his mind an infal- 
lible mark of distinction. Before she was carried off, 
her brother Ebenezer had struck her fore-finger on the 
left hand with a hammer, in the blacksmith's shop, and 
so injured the bone that the nail was permanently 
destroyed, and the finger otherwise disfigured. Mr. 
Slocum accordingly took hold of her hand, and brought 
her to the light, and saw the mark still remaining, 
with very little variation from the changes of time. 
M How came that finger jammed?" asked he, through 
the interpreter. " My brother struck it with a ham- 
mer in the shop, a long time ago, before I was carried 
away," was the answer. 

She, however, said but little ; she was coy and sus- 
picious, and manifested no confidence in the claims of 
the stranger to be her brother. Mr. Slocum was satis- 
fied beyond a doubt that he had found the real Fran- 
ces Slocum, for whom he and his brothers had so long 
and so often been employed in ineffectual searches. 
He now returned to a small village nine miles distant, 
called Peru, and anxiously waited the arrival of his 
brother Joseph and sister Town. Here he spent sev- 
eral weary days in great anxiety and suspense. 

At length, after hard toiling most of the way over 
horrible roads through a new country, the brother and 
sister arrived. For persons in advanced life they had 
almost performed miracles of endurance ; they were 
much fatigued, but they did not delay long until they 



FKANCES SLOCUM. 257 

were on the line of march for the house of Frances. 
On their way they paid their respects to Godfrey, the 
second chief of the Miamis, who was an exceedingly 
large man, of fine proportions and noble bearing. The 
chief received them with great courtesy, and promised 
them his good offices in the matter of their visit, should 
they be needed. 

The party left the chief and hastened on to the point 
of interest. They entered the decent Indian cabin — 
constructed of logs, and quite roomy — and found the 
mistress of the house sitting in her chair. Still she 
was not disposed to converse freely. She gave a brief 
account of her family and the circumstances of her 
capture, but seemed utterly unmoved, and not free 
from suspicion that there was some plan in operation 
to take her away or to get her land. The brothers 
walked the floor with emotions too deep and over- 
whelming for utterance — the sister wept. Could it be 
possible that this Indian woman was the dear little 
Frances, whose sweet smiles lingered in their memory, 
and which they could scarcely do any other than 
identify with her still? Has she — dear Frances — been 
metamorphosed into this stoical, iron-hearted Indian 
woman — old, wrinkled, and cold as an iceberg ? But 
there could be no mistake about it. She said her 
father's name was Slocum ; he was a Quaker, and 
wore a broad-brimmed hat ; he lived near a fort by a 
great river ; she had seven brothers and two sisters ; 
her brother hammered off* her finger nail ; she was 
taken from under the staircase; three Indians took 
her, with a boy and a black girl, a great many winters 
ago, when she was a little child. The question was 
settled ; this was Frances. 

She was now a widow. Her husband was a chief. 



258 WYOMING. 

She had two daughters : the younger of the two had 
lost her husband ; the husband of the elder was a half- 
breed — his father a Frenchman — and his name was 
Brouriette, who managed the out-door affairs of the 
family, subject always to the views and feelings of the 
queen mother-in-law. The family circle scrupulously 
followed the lead of the venerated head of the house- 
hold, making no advances, exhibiting no emotion. 
On this occasion only one tender chord was touched. 
The long-lost sister had forgotten her own name. She 
was asked if she thought she could remember it if she 
should hear it mentioned. Her answer was, "It is a 
long time ; I do not know." " Was it Frances ?" 
Something like emotion instantly agitated her iron- 
cast features, and, with a smile, she answered in the 
affirmative, " Franca, Franca." 

Things changed a little, but by very slow degrees. 
The hospitalities of the house were never denied to 
respectable strangers, and, of course, would be offered 
to the Slocums. When the conversation was con- 
cluded, the Indian queen went about her business, ap- 
parently with as much indifference as though nothing 
of interest had happened. The party surveyed the 
premises, and were pleased to find every thing in ex- 
cellent order for an Indian residence. Returning from 
a stroll, they observed the sister seated on the floor, at 
work at a deerskin, which was nearly ready for use. 
She was scraping the rough places with a knife, and 
reducing its rigidity by friction. She paid little atten- 
tion to the strangers, only answering when addressed 
through the interpreter. The daughters evidently ob- 
served the strangers with interest, but, Indian-like, only 
cast at them side-glances when they thought they were 
not observed. 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 259 

The company proposed to the sister to accompany 
them, with her son-in-law and daughters, to Peru. 
She could not fully pledge herself to comply with this 
request until she had consulted Godfrey, the chief. 
He advised her to comply with the request, assuring 
her that she would be in no danger from the respect- 
able strangers ; that, being her relations, they had cer- 
tainly visited her with none other than the most friend- 
ly intentions. The arrangement was completed, and 
the party returned. 

On the Sabbath, the sister, her son-in-law, and two 
daughters came on horseback, in single file, and pre- 
sented themselves before the door of the new hotel of 
the little town, the queen before, the daughters next, 
and Captain Brouriette bringing up the rear. They 
were met by the brothers with great cordiality, and re- 
quested to alight, and were conducted into the house. 
Before any intimacy could be entered upon, the stran- 
gers must receive a present. The eldest daughter 
brought something in a clean white cloth and laid it 
upon the table, which, upon examination, was found 
to be the hind-quarter of a deer. After a brief expla- 
nation through the interpreter, Mrs. Town advanced 
and took possession of the present, which was the 
proffered token of friendship, when confidence was es- 
tablished. 

There was now only one drawback to the circum- 
stances of the meeting, and that was the fact that it 
was the Sabbath. And was it possible that Frances 
had lost the idea of the sacredness of the Sabbath ? 
that "she did not know when Sunday came?" Here 
was an evidence, among many, that Frances Slocum 
had become an Indian in every thing excepting her 
parentage, and that she was, in fact, a heathen-. Noth- 



260 WYOMING. 

ing else could have been expected, and yet the fact 
seemed surprising, as it was afflicting, to the Slocums. 

The best provisions were now made for the enter- 
tainment of the Indian party, and Frances was some- 
what more free. She listened with interest to a his- 
tory of the Slocum family, a part of which was the 
cruel murder of her father soon after her capture, and 
the deep anxiety of their mother, while she lived, to 
find her lost child. They assured her that Mrs. Town 
was the sister who ran away to the fort with her little 
brother in her arms, and that Mr. Joseph Slocum was 
that very little brother. In due time preparations 
were made to take down in writing her Indian history. 
To this she seemed to have some aversion until the 
reasons for it were explained by the interpreter. She 
then proceeded with a brief account of her captivity, 
and her Indian life down to the present time, which, 
as it was more fully recited on the occasion of a sub- 
sequent visit, we shall reserve for record in connection 
with that visit. 

This was a most extraordinary meeting, and excited 
no little interest in the community. People gathered 
in and around the house, gaping and listening with 
amazement. They crowded the doors and windows, 
and so interrupted the free circulation of the air, that 
the Indian party, so accustomed to the free air of the 
woods and the prairies, were almost suffocated. The 
food, too, seasoned with salt and pepper, was not only 
unpalatable, but was scarcely endurable. The circum- 
stances, altogether, had an injurious influence upon the 
health of Frances, and she sought relief in accordance 
with the habits of savage life. She quietly slipped 
away, and in five minutes was found with her blanket 
pulled over her head, lying on the floor of the stoop, 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 261 

fast asleep. The two parties remained at Peru three 
days. They had frequent conferences, during which 
the following questions and answers are reported : 

"Were you ever tired of living with the Indians?" 

" No ; I always had enough to live on, and have lived 
well. The Indians always used me kindly." 

M Did you know that you had white relations who 
were seeking you for so many years ?" 

" No ; no one told me, and I never heard of it. I 
never thought any thing about my white relations un- 
less it was a little while after I was taken." 

" We live where our father and mother used to live, 
on the banks of the beautiful Susquehanna, and we 
want you to return with us ; we will give you of our 
property, and you shall be one of us, and share all that 
we have. You shall have a good house, and every 
thing you desire. Oh, do go back with us !" 

" No, I can not. I have always lived with the In- 
dians ; they have always used me very kindly ; I am 
used to them. The Great Spirit has always allowed 
me to live with them, and I wish to live and die with 
them. Your Wah-puh-mone (looking-glass) may be 
larger than mine, but this is my home. I do not wish 
to live any better, or any where else, and I think the 
Great Spirit has permitted me to live so long because 
I have always lived with the Indians. I should have 
died sooner if I had left them. My husband and my 
boys are buried here, and I can not leave them. On 
his dying-day my husband charged me not to leave the 
Indians. I have a house and large lands, two daugh- 
ters, a son-in-law, three grandchildren, and every thing 
to make me comfortable : why should I go, and be like 
a fish out of the water?" 

Brouriette spoke and said : 



262 WYOMING. 

" And I know all about it. I was born at Fort 
Harrison, about two miles from Terre Haute. When I 
was ten years old I went to Detroit. I was married 
to this woman about thirteen years ago. The people 
about here and at Logansport and at Miamisport have 
known me ever since the country was settled by the 
whites. They know me to be industrious, to manage 
well, and to maintain my family respectably. My 
mother-in-law's sons are dead, and I stand in their 
place to her. I mean to maintain her well as long as 
she lives, for the truth of which you may depend on 
the word of Captain Brouriette." 

"What Captain Brouriette says," added the old 
lady, " is true. He has always treated me kindly, and 
I am satisfied with him — perfectly satisfied; and I 
hope my connections will not feel any uneasiness about 
me. The Indians are my people. I do no work. I 
sit in the house with these my two daughters, who do 
the work, and I sit with them." 

"But will you at least go and make a visit to your 
early home, and when you have seen us, return again 
to your children?" 

M I can not. I can not. I am an old tree. I can 
not move about. I was a sapling when they took me 
away. It is all gone past. I am afraid I should die 
and never come back. I am happy here. I shall die 
here and lie in that grave-yard, and they will raise the 
pole at my grave with the white flag on it, and the 
Great Spirit will know where to find me. I should 
not be happy with my white relatives. I am glad 
enough to see them, but I can not go. I can not go. 
I have done." 

"When the whites take a squaw," said Brouriette, 
with much animation, as if delighted with the decision 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 268 

of the old lady, " they make her work like a slave. It 
was never so with this woman. If I had been a 
drunken, worthless fellow, this woman could not have 
lived to this age. But I have always treated her well. 
The village is called Deaf Man's Village, after her hus- 
band. I have done." 

The eldest daughter, whose name is Kick-ke-se-qua, 
or "cut-finger" assented to all that had been said, and 
added that " the deer can not live out of the forest." 

The youngest daughter, O-show-se-quah, or "yellow 
leaves" confirmed all, and thought that her mother 
could not go even on a visit, " because," said she, " the 
fish dies quickly out of the water." 

The talk closed. The Indian sister was weary and 
sick, and anxious to return to her wilds, so congenial 
to her feelings, and so endeared to her heart by many 
tender associations. There was her home, and there 
were the graves of her husband and her sons, and there 
she could enjoy the mode of life which, by long and 
invincible habit, had become her element, and was nec- 
essary to her being. 

The brothers and sister returned to their homes 
with mingled emotions of pleasure and pain. They 
had found their long-lost sister Frances, but they had 
found and left her an Indian, with almost every trace 
of Christian civilization erased, both from her soul, 
body, and being. She looked like an Indian, talked 
like an Indian, lived like an Indian, seated herself like 
an Indian, ate like an Indian, lay down to sleep like 
an Indian, thought, felt, and reasoned like an Indian ; 
she had no longings for her original home, or the so- 
ciety of her kindred ; she eschewed the trammels of 
civilized fife, and could only breathe freely in the great 
unfenced out-doors which God gave to the Ked Man. 



264 WYOMING. 

There was, however, this to comfort the Slocums : their 
sister was not degraded in her habits or her charac- 
ter ; there was a moral dignity in her manners entirely 
above ordinary savage life ; her Anglo-Saxon blood 
had not been tainted by savage touch, but bore itself 
gloriously amid the long series of trials through which 
it had passed. She was the widow of a deceased chief; 
she was rich; all that abundance and respectability 
could do for a woman in savage life was hers. Such 
was the former Frances Slocum, of Wyoming, now 
Ma-con-a-qua, the Indian queen of the Miamis. The 
problem was settled — the veil of sixty years cast over 
the history and fate of a captive child was now finally 
removed. 

On Mr. Joseph Slocum's return to his family in 
Wilkesbarre, his relations were listened to with the 
most intense interest. Every body had a long cata- 
logue of questions to ask about Frances, which he was 
always ready to answer. He seemed never weary of 
conversing upon the subject of the captivity — the 
mysterious history — the visit. But Mr. Slocum was 
not quite satisfied with that visit; he consequently 
resolved upon another, and this time he took with him 
his eldest and youngest daughters. 

Mr. Slocum and his two daughters — Mrs. Bennet 
and Harriet, now Mrs. Drake — left home upon this in- 
teresting trip September 10th, 1839. Their route was 
through Montrose, Owego, Ithaca, the Cayuga Lake, 
and by the Erie Canal to Niagara Falls. Mr. Slocum's 
memorandum of the journey contains many interest- 
ing entries, besides an account of his expenses ; Mrs. 
Bennet kept a regular journal. Both of these are be- 
fore us, and, so far as facts are concerned, will be strict- 
ly followed. 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 265 

After a thorough examination of that great natural 
curiosity, the Falls, the party took the cars for Buffalo, 
and thence came, by steam-boat, to Sandusky City. 
After a short visit at Mr. Isaac Slocum's, who resided 
a few miles back in the country, they took another 
steam-boat for Maumee. Thence they came by stage, 
via Fort Defiance, to Fort "Wayne, through the rain, 
over horrible roads, heavily loaded : nothing is noted 
very favorable to the stages or drivers. Here they 
took passage on a canal packet to Logansport, and 
thence to Peru, where they arrived September 28th, 
having been eighteen days on their journey. Mrs. Ben- 
net says, " We found comfortable lodgings at Mr. Bur- 
nett's, a temperance house. This place has only been 
settled four years ; the country is rich, but unhealthy." 
Mr. Miller, the interpreter, called upon them; they 
spent the Sabbath here. On Monday morning they 
chartered a wagon, and proceeded to " the Deaf Man's 
Village." The company consisted of Mr. Slocum, his 
two daughters, Mr. Miller, and two gentlemen — Mr. 
Taylor and Mr. Fullweller. " Our charioteer likes a 
dram : to be sure of a supply, he carried a bottle in his 
pocket ; if he had spent the money in getting his har- 
ness mended it would have been better for us:" so 
says Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Slocum says, " Had some trou- 
ble with breaking our harness; got up there about 
half past twelve o'clock." 

Having received intelligence of the coming of the 
party, Brouriette, according to the custom of the Mi- 
amis when visited by distinguished guests, came well 
mounted to meet them. He dismounted and shook 
hands with them all, and bid them welcome. He then 
mounted his horse, and galloped off through the woods 
with great speed to apprise the family of the approach 

M 



266 WYOMING. 

of the company. He spoke broken English, and Mrs. 
Drake says, "He is a very tine, tall Indian ; his head 
was covered with a handkerchief something like a tur- 
ban, with nearly a yard of red calico hanging down 
behind." As he ran his horse through the woods, 
with his red streamer flying after him, "he made," as 
she says, "a grotesque appearance." 

The Sloeums and their friends arrived at the resi- 
dence of Frances September 30. Captain Brouriette 
met them at the door and brought them into the 
house. Mrs. Drake says, " We found our aunt seated 
in a chair, looking very much as represented in the 
water-colored portrait now in possession of Judge Ben- 
net, with her two daughters standing by her." 

Mr. Slocum, after the accustomed salutations, told 
his sister that he had brought his eldest and youngest 
children to see her. The coldness and reserve of the 
former visit were now entirely gone, and Frances ex- 
pressed great joy upon the occasion of again seeing 
her brother, and particularly that he had brought his 
daughters so far to see her. The mother and daugh- 
ters immediately commenced an animated conversa- 
tion upon the subject of the family resemblances 
which were observable. The old lady, looking at the 
ladies earnestly, passed her hand down her cheeks, 
stopping the motion at the posterior point of her lower 
jaw. There is an unusual fullness and prominence at 
that point of the Slocum face. 

The preparations for dinner were soon commenced. 
They spread the table with a white cotton cloth, and 
wiped the dishes, as they took them from the cup- 
board, with a clean cloth. They prepared an excellent 
dinner of fried venison, potatoes, shortcake, and cof- 
fee. Their cups and saucers were small, and they put 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 



267 




MA-CON-A-QUA. 



three or four table -spoonfuls of maple sugar in a cup. 
They were told by their white visitors, " Our way is 
not so much sugar." They seemed very anxious to 
please, and would often ask, "Is that right?" The 
eldest daughter waited on the table, while her mother 
sat at the table and ate with her white relations. After 
dinner they washed the dishes, and replaced them upon 
the shelves, and then swept the floor. The ladies were 



268 WYOMING. 

surprised at these evidences of civilization, and upon 
asking their aunt why they did these things, she made 
answer that her mother used to do so, and she had al- 
ways done it, and learned it to her daughters. It was, 
therefore, a uniform rule in her house to wipe the dust 
from the dishes when they were put upon the table, 
and when the meal was concluded to wash them and 
return them to the cupboard, and then to sweep the 
room. 

In the afternoon all left but Mr. Slocum, his daugh- 
ters, and Mr. Miller ; the last remained till near night, 
when he returned. They strolled over the prem- 
ises, and visited the burying-ground. They raise a 
pole over the grave fifteen or twenty feet high, with 
a white cloth at the top, which remains until destroyed 
by time. The premises showed great skill and indus- 
try for savage life, and no little order and attention to 
comfort in its arrangements. The house was "a dou- 
ble hut." A neighboring squaw came in to help do 
the work, and the Indian daughters kept close to their 
white cousins, and talked with them incessantly. They 
supposed candles would be wanted, and, to meet the 
emergency, the squaw melted some tallow, twisted 
wicking on a stick, and with a spoon poured the tal- 
low down the wicks until " quite a respectable candle" 
was produced. 

For supper they had the breast of a wild turkey 
stewed with onions — " quite a delicate dish." When 
they came to retire, "the pillow" all there was in the 
house, was assigned to Mr. Slocum by the Indian sis- 
ter. " They pay great respect to age. They had six 
beds, principally composed of blankets and other goods 
folded together," says Mrs. Bennet. " They were made 
of almost every thing," says Mrs. Drake. The visitors 



PRANCES SLOCUM. 269 

slept sweetly, and, after taking " a comfortable break- 
fast," they commenced their arrangements to return 
to Peru. 

After breakfast a white man came to purchase a 
steer, and brought with him a colored man as an in- 
terpreter. He could not trade for the want of the 
money, as " he might move away,'' and that would be 
the last of it. ISTo business transaction takes place in 
the family without the consent of Frances. She usu- 
ally makes the bargains herself. 

The colored man served so well in the capacity of 
an interpreter that he was retained by Mr. Slocum 
for the purpose. Frances was more free in her com- 
munications through him than she had been through 
Mr. Miller, and gave many circumstances in her his- 
tory and recollections which she had not previously 
given. 

They seemed anxious to tell their white relatives 
as much as possible about themselves, and to make as 
favorable an impression as possible. They had made 
in the spring " eleven barrels of sugar." " She says 
she could have a better house, but fears to do it on 
account of the jealousy of the Indians. She has 
money ; some that has been saved since the treaty of 
St. Mary's, eighteen years ago. They had cloths and 
calicoes enough to fill a country store. They have a 
looking-glass — several splint-bottomed chairs — a great 
many trinkets hung about the house — beads and 
chains of silver and polished steel. Some of their 
dresses are richly ornamented with silver brooches, 
seven or eight rows of them as close as they can be 
put together — many silver ear-rings: my aunt had 
seven pairs in her ears ; her daughters perhaps a 
dozen a piece. They have saddles and bridles of the 



270 WYOMING. 

most costly kind — six men's saddles and one side- 
saddle. They have between fifty and sixty horses, 
one hundred hogs, and seventeen head of cattle. 
They have geese and chickens. Their house is in- 
closed with a common worm fence, with some out- 
houses, principally built of logs. A never -failing 
spring of excellent water is near the door, with a 
house over it." This is Mrs. Bennet's description, 
with some items added by Mrs. Drake. From the 
same sources I give the following description of the 
family. 

" My aunt is of small stature, not very much bent ; 
her hair clubbed behind in calico, tied with worsted 
ferret; her dress a blue calico short-gown, a white 
Mackinaw blanket, a fold of blue broadcloth around 
her, red cloth leggins, and buckskin moccasins. Her 
hair is somewhat gray, her eyes a bright chestnut, clear 
and sprightly for one of her age, her face very much 
wrinkled and weather-beaten. She has a scar on her 
left cheek, which she received at an Indian dance. 
Her skin is not so dark as would be expected from 
her age and constant exposure. Her teeth are remark- 
ably good," 

This extraordinary family had not been without 
their griefs. The first husband of the youngest daugh- 
ter had died, and the second had been killed in a fight. 
The only child of the eldest had been poisoned by a 
desperate lover, son of Grodfrey the chief, because her 
family would not consent to her marrying him on ac- 
count of his intemperance and idleness. These sad 
events had left traces behind them which death alone 
would efface. 

At the time the whole family gave themselves up 
to inconsolable grief. 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 271 

"Lady Cap. Alack the day ! she's dead, she's dead, she's 
dead. 

Cap. Ha ! let me see her. Out, alas ! she's cold ; 
Her blood is settled, and her joints are stiff; 
Death lies on her, like an untimely frost 
Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. 
Accursed time ! unfortunate old man ! 

Nurse. O, lamentable day ! 

Lady Cap. O, woeful time ! 

Cap. Death, that hath ta'en her hence to make me wail, 
Ties up my tongue, and will not let me speak. 

Lady Cap. Accurs'd, unhappy, wretched, hateful day ! 
Most miserable hour that e'er time saw 
In lasting labor of his pilgrimage ! 
But one, poor one, one poor and loving child, 
But one thing to rejoice and solace in, 
And cruel death hath catch'd it from my sight." 

Shakspeabe — Romeo and Juliet. 

The following is from Mrs. Bennet's journal : " The 
eldest daughter is large and fleshy— I should think 
would weigh near two hundred pounds. She is act- 
ive, observing, and intelligent, thirty-four years of age. 

The youngest is smaller — is quiet and very retiring 

is twenty-four years of age. The mother's name is Ma- 
con-a-qua, a young bear. The eldest daughter's name 
is Kich-ke-ne-che-qua, cut-finger. The youngest is 
O-saw-she-quah, yellow leaf. The grandchildren's names 
are Kip-pe-no-quah, corn-tassel, Wap-pa-na-se-a, a blue 
corn, Kim-on-sack-quah, young panther. 11 

As to the religious notions of Frances, Mrs. Bennet 
says, " She is well apprised of a heaven and hell, and 
the necessity of living a sober, honest, and quiet life, 
and if she does she thinks she will be happy when she 
dies, having been taught these things by her adopted 
parents." The heathenism of the Delawares, into whose 
hands she fell, had been much modified by Christian 
influences and instructions, through the agency of the 



272 WYOMING. 

Moravian missionaries. It is not at all unlikely that 
the Christian ideas of a state of future rewards and 
punishments had made a deep impression upon the 
general mind of that tribe far beyond what was devel- 
oped in the form of a profession of Christianity. These 
ideas, being in harmony with the childish impressions 
and early instructions of Frances, would be likely to 
take a deeper hold upon her heart and life than upon 
those of native Indians. There was a high moral 
bearing in this adopted Indian mind that well accords 
with this theory ; and how far the Holy Spirit may 
have wrought these principles into the texture of her 
soul, and, through them, finally sanctified that soul, is 
not for us to know. But it would scarcely border 
upon presumption to entertain a hope of the final hap- 
piness of Frances Slocum. 

To proceed with the visit. It had been arranged 
that Frances, her eldest daughter, and Captain Brou- 
riette should accompany the visitors to Peru, in the 
way of an interchange of hospitalities. After break- 
fast Captain Brouriette left upon some business, prom- 
ising to meet the company at Peru at three o'clock 
P. M. The arrangements for proceeding on horseback 
were nearly completed. Frances had but one side- 
saddle, and she went to the brink of the river, and 
took off her moccasins and leggins, waded the river, 
and went a mile and borrowed another side-saddle, 
that both of her fair nieces might be accommodated. 
As for herself, like the Indian women generally, she 
rode a man's saddle. 

About noon the horses were all rigged and at the 
door. When the company were all seated in their 
saddles, Frances started off, followed by her eldest 
daughter. Mr. Slocum rode on next, followed by his 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 273 

two daughters, " all in Indian file." They forded the 
Missisinewa twice and the Wabash once. Just be- 
fore they arrived at Peru, Frances and her daughter 
fell behind, wishing her white relatives to take the lead 
as they entered the village. They arrived a little be- 
fore three, and, punctual to the minute, Captain Brou- 
riette rode up at three. They were now all seated in 
the parlor, with Mr. Miller, the interpreter, and visit- 
ing proceeded briskly. The Indian portion of the 
party were now more observing than ever, and did not 
try to conceal their preferences for many of the usages 
of the whites. They would neither eat nor do scarcely 
any thing else until they saw how their white friends 
did it. They spoke of many things they saw upon 
the table, and said they must get some like them. 
Harriet had knitting, and the Indian daughter would 
scarcely allow her to lay it down until she had learned 
u the stitch." She said she would knit herself a pair 
of stockings, " they were so comfortable." At night 
the ladies all retired to the same room. Here Fran- 
ces and her daughter closely observed the garments 
of the ladies, and, so far as was physically practicable, 
tried them on. The bulky young Indian woman, by 
shrewd signs, intimated that if she had stays to wear 
she would be small too. When their curiosity was 
gratified, the queen Ma-con-a-qua and her daughter 
lay down upon the floor, not listening for a moment to 
the solicitations of the ladies to take a bed, and in a 
few minutes were sound asleep. 

We will now proceed to give the history of Frances 
as she gave it, piecemeal, during the two visits. 

She said that before her father removed to Wyo- 
ming they lived by a great water. They had a large 
house, and she thought her father had sold it, as she 

M2 



274 WYOMING. 

saw a great heap of paper money counted out on the 
table. In a few days there was a large new wagon 
brought up, and they were all put into it like a flock of 
quails or chickens. The wagon had a sail or tent over 
it. They used to peep out sometimes, and her broth- 
er, who rode on one of the horses, would strike at them 
with his great whip. He called her "red-head," and 
told her to keep her head in, or it would get knocked 
off against the trees. She said, they would take us 
out and feed us, and then put us back again under the 
tent. She remembered her mother — remembers see- 
ing her spin : she was a large woman, and she would 
make her mind, and make her work. She tells this to 
her girls : when she was small, her mother would make 
her wash up the dishes as soon as they had done eat- 
ing, and she taught them the same thing. When they 
came to Wyoming they lived by a long river near a 
fort. On being asked if they had any black people in 
the family, she said they had, and the Indians took a 
black girl before they took her. 

THE CAPTIVITY. 

We will now proceed to the story of the captivity 
of Frances Slocum as related by herself. " Three Del- 
aware Indians came suddenly to our house. They 
killed and scalped a man near the door. A boy ran 
into the house, and he and I hid under the staircase. 
The Indians came into the house and went up stairs. 
They took some loaf-sugar and some bundles of other 
things. They carried us through the bushes. I look- 
ed back, but saw no one except my mother. They 
carried us over the mountains — it seemed to me a long 
way — to a cave where they had left their blankets 
and some other things. There was a bed of leaves, 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 275 

and here we staid all night. We reached this place 
while it was yet light. I was very tired, and I lay 
down on the ground, and cried until I fell asleep. 

" The next morning we set off early, and we traveled 
many days in the woods before we came to an Indian 
village. When we stopped at night, the Indians would 
make a bed of hemlock boughs, and make up a great 
fire at their feet which would last all night. They 
roasted their meat by sticking a stick into it, and hold- 
ing it to the fire. They drank at the brooks and 
springs, and made me a little cup of birch bark to 
drink out of. The Indians were very kind to me ; 
when they had any thing to eat, I always had the best; 
when I was tired, they carried me in their arms ; and 
in a short time I began to feel better, and stopped cry- 
ing. I do not know where the Indian village was 
which we first stopped at ; we only staid there a few 
days." It was probably Sheshequin. 

"Very early one morning two of the same Indians 
took a horse, and set the boy and me on it, and set off 
upon a journey. One Indian went before, and the oth- 
er behind, driving the horse. We traveled a long way, 
when we came to the village where these Indians be- 
longed. I now found that one of them was an Indian 
chief whom they called Tack-horse. I do not know 
what that name means." The name, it is probable, 
has allusion to some fact in the chief's history while 
he mingled with the whites, for we shall subsequently 
see that he had quite a sprinkling of civilization in his 
character. Her story proceeds : " Early one morning 
Tack-horse took me and dressed my hair in the Indian 
fashion, and painted my face. He then dressed me up, 
and put on me beautiful wampum beads, and made me 
look very fine. I was much pleased with the wampum. 



276 WYOMING. 

"We then lived on a hill not far from a river" — 
probably the Grenesee River. " I was now adopted by 
Tack-horse and his wife in the place of one they had 
lost a short time before, and they gave me her name. 
When the Indians lose a child, they often adopt some 
one in its place, and treat that one in all respects as 
their own. This is the reason why they so often carry 
off the children of white people. 

11 It was now the fall of the year, for chestnuts had 
come. There were a great many Indians here, and 
here we remained all winter. The Indians were fur- 
nished with ammunition and provisions by the British. 
In the spring we went to Sandusky, and staid there 
through the summer, but in the fall we came back, and 
we lived one year at Niagara. I recollect that the In- 
dians were afraid to cross above the Falls on account 
of the rapidity of the water. I also recollect that they 
had a machine by which they raised goods from below 
the Falls, and let things down." This was, no doubt, a 
tackle erected by the English. 

"We went from Niagara near Detroit, where we 
lived three years. My adopted father made chairs, 
which he sold ; he also played on the fiddle, and fre- 
quently went into the white settlements and played, 
and received pay for it. My adopted mother made 
baskets and brooms, which she sold. The British 
made them presents of ammunition and food, which 
they had to go after in the night. 

" In the spring we went down to a large river — 
Detroit River — where the Indians built a great many 
bark canoes. When they were finished we went up 
Detroit River, where we remained three years. 

" There had been war between the British and 
Americans, and the American army had driven the 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 277 

Indians around the fort where I was adopted. In 
their fights, the Indians used to bring home scalps. I 
do not know how many. When peace was made be- 
tween the British and Americans, we lived by hunt- 
ing, fishing, and raising corn. The reason why we 
staid here so long was that we heard the Americans 
had destroyed all our villages and corn-fields." 

Frances had now been among the Indians eight 
years, and was thirteen years of age. She had been 
tenderly treated, and taught that the white people were 
enemies to the Indians. She had adopted the Indians 
for her people, and had a dread of being recaptured 
and taken back among the whites. She was taught 
the use of the bow and arrow, and became expert in 
all the wild sports and athletic exercises of the squaws. 
She was a successful hunter. She would mount an In- 
dian pony, and gallop through the woods with almost 
the speed of the wild deer, and with the spirit of the 
most romantic princess of the Western forests. 

" Soft was the light that filled her eye, 
And grace was in her every motion ; 
Her tone was touching, like the sigh 

When young love first becomes devotion. 
Among a savage people, still 

She kept from savage moods apart, 
And thought of crime and dream of ill 
Had never swayed her maiden heart." 

Pocahontas, by W. G. SlMMS. 

" She'd often wander in the wood, or roam 
The wilderness in quest of curious flowers, 
Or nest of bird unknown, till eve approach'd, 
And hemm'd her in the shade." 

Logan. 

But let us proceed with our story. 



278 WYOMING. 



REMOVES TO FORT WAYNE. 

"After three years, my family and another Dela- 
ware family removed to Fort Wayne, after Wayne's 
victory. I do not know where the other Indians went. 
This was now our home, and I suppose we lived there 
thirty years. We lived on Eel Eiver, three miles from 
Fort Wayne. I was there at the time of Harmer's 
defeat. At the time when this battle was fought, the 
women and children were all made to run north. I 
do not know whether the Indians took any prisoners, 
or brought home any scalps at this time. After the 
battle they all scattered and returned to their homes. 
I then returned to Fort Wayne again. The Indians 
who returned from this battle were Delawares, Pota- 
watomies, Shawnees, and Miamis." 

11 There stood the Indian hamlet, there the lake 

Spread its blue sheet that flashed with many an oar ; 
Where the brown otter plunged him from the brake, 
And the deer drank : as the light gale flew o'er, 
The twinkling maize-field wrestled on the shore. 

And while that spot, so wild, and lone, and fair, 
A look of glad and innocent beauty wore, 
And peace was in the earth and in the air, 
The warrior lit the pile, and bound his captive there. 

"Not unavenged, the foeman from the wood 

Beheld the deed; and when the midnight shade 
Was stillest, gorged his battle-axe with blood ; 

All died : the wailing babe, the shrieking maid ; 
And in the flood of fire that scathed the glade, 

The roofs went down ; but deep the silence grew, 
When on the dewy woods the day-beam played ; 
No more the cabin smokes rose wreathed and blue, 
And ever by their lake lay moored the light canoe." 

Bryant. 

"I was always treated kindly by the Delawares; 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 279 

and while I lived with them I was married to a Dela- 
ware by the name of Little Turtle. He afterward left me 
and went west of the Mississippi. I would not go with 
him. My old mother staid here, and I chose to stay 
with her. My adopted father could talk English, and 
so could I while he lived. It has now been a long- 
time since I forgot it all. 

" The Delawares and Miamis were then living to- 
gether as one people. I was afterward married to a 
Miami, a chief, whom the white people called ' The 
Deaf Man.' His Indian name was She-poe-ken-ah. 
We came to this reserve about twenty-four years ago. 
I had no children by my first husband, but by the last 
one I had four — two boys and two girls. My boys 
died while they were young ; my girls are still living, 
and are here with me." At the period of the last 
visit, her husband had been dead six years. As to the 
Indian wars, she says : 

" I can not tell much about the Indian wars with 
the whites, which were so common and so bloody. I 
well remember a battle and a defeat of the Americans 
at Fort Washington, which is now Cincinnati. I re- 
member how Wayne and ' Mad Anthony' drove the 
Indians away, and built the fort. The Indians then 
scattered all over the country, and lived upon game, 
which was very plenty. After this they encamped on 
Ked Eiver. After peace was made we all returned 
to Fort Wayne, and received provisions from the 
Americans, and there I lived a long time. I had re- 
moved with my family to the Missisinewa Eiver some 
time before the battle of Tippecanoe. The Indians 
who fought in that battle were Kickapoos, Potawato- 
mies, and Shawnees. The Miamis were not there. I 
heard of the battle on the Missisinewa ; but my hus- 



280 WYOMING. 

band could not hear, and never went into the wars, 
and I did not know much about it." 

The day after their arrival at Peru, Frances was 
prevailed upon to have her likeness taken. An artist 
was sent for from Logansport, but, for some reason, he 
did not arrive as was expected, and the consequence 
was that the adieu was not so formal as it would have 
been. Frances went home with Brouriette and her 
daughter, expecting to return, and, after having her 
portrait taken, to bid the visitors a formal farewell. 
After waiting two or three days, the party became 
weary and set off for home. Arrangements were, 
however, made for the portrait, and the painting was 
executed. Subsequently another was taken, and both 
are in the possession of her friends in Wilkesbarre. 

Before leaving, Frances made a serious effort to pre- 
vail upon her brother to come and live with her. Not 
to be outdone by her brothers, who had made her such 
liberal offers if she would come and live with them, 
she told Mr. Slocum that, if he would come to her vil- 
lage and live, she would give him half of her land, and 
this would have been no mean present. Her sincerity 
and earnestness in this proposition were affecting. No 
arrangement could be made by which the brother and 
sister — so long separated, and to each other as dead, 
and now so mysteriously brought together and united 
in affection — could spend their remnant of life in the 
same neighborhood. They both bowed submissively 
to what was evidently the order of Providence, and 
tried to adjust their feelings to the separation. 

The Indian daughter took a fancy to Harriet Slo- 
cum, dressed her in beads and wampum, and said she 
looked like her daughter, who had been cruelly pois- 



FRANCES SLOCUM. 281 

oned. ""Would I not make a nice squaw?" asked 
Harriet. " Yes, beautiful squaw ; will you be in the 
place of my daughter, and live with me?" On being 
told that her friends could not spare her, she was sat- 
isfied. She seemed sensible that she was asking too 
much; but, could the boon have been granted, it would 
have been most grateful to her heart. 

Frances, Brouriette, and his wife finally gave their 
white relatives the parting hand, expressing their high 
gratification with the visit and the affection which 
they had manifested for them in coming so far to see 
them. 

But, before the final adieu, Captain Brouriette gave 
Mr. Slocum the most ample assurances that he would 
take good care of his mother-in-law while she lived. 
He said he had never left her but once, and that was 
because of a disagreement with his brother-in-law, who 
was a drunken, lazy Indian, and would do nothing for 
himself or any one else. He was now dead, and they 
lived in the utmost harmony. 

They shook hands and parted, expecting to meet 
in a day or two ; but this was the final adieu. Mr. 
Slocum and his daughters returned from this most in- 
teresting visit via Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Pitts- 
burg. They brought home many little remembrances 
of their Indian relatives. 

ACT OF CONGRESS IN FAVOR OF FRANCES. 

When arrangements were being made by the gov- 
ernment to settle the Indians of Indiana west of the 
Mississippi, Mr. Slocum did not forget his sister. He 
petitioned Congress in her behalf, and succeeded in en- 
listing powerful support. Hon. B. A. Bidlack took 
charge of the bill, and John Quincy Adams made one 



282 WYOMING. 

of his strong speeches in its support, and it became a 
law. The bill provided that one mile square of the 
reserve, embracing the house and improvements of 
Frances Slocum, should be granted in fee to her and 
her heirs forever. She remembered the kindness, and 
went down to the grave, in a goodly old age, with the 
gratitude of a warm heart, and wishing many blessings 
upon her good brother. 

LAST DAYS OF FRANCES SLOCUM. 

The Miamis had removed West, in accordance with 
the policy of the government. Frances Slocum was 
surrounded by white settlers, of whom she naturally 
entertained suspicions which were not calculated to 
promote the comfort and quiet of her latter days. She 
was, in fact, suspicious that she and her family might 
at last be robbed of the home to which the govern- 
ment had given them a title. She sent word to her 
brother Joseph to come and protect her from the frauds 
which she apprehended were likely to be practiced 
upon her. As the best that could be done for her, a 
son of Isaac Slocum took charge of her business. But 
all her old associates were gone, and a new order of 
things was established around her. Despairing of the 
return of the scenes of the past, she sighed for release 
from the associations and vices of civilization. Con- 
trasting the freedom and the romance of savage life 
with the thirst of gain and the overreaching policy of 
a white frontier settlement, she thought she had truly 
fallen upon evil times, and was really weary of life. 
The prestige of her character and her name had de- 
parted with her tribe, and she was looked upon simply 
as a favored old Indian woman, whose claims to equal 
rights with her white neighbors were entitled to very 
little respect. 



PRANCES SLOCUM. 283 

During her last sickness, which was brief, Frances 
Slocum refused all medical aid, declaring that, as her 
people were gone, and she was surrounded by stran- 
gers, she wished to live no longer. She departed this 
life March 9th, 1847. She had Christian burial, a 
prayer being made at her house, and her remains con- 
ducted to the grave by a clergyman. Her daughter, 
the wife of Captain Brouriette, overcome with toil and 
grief, followed her mother to the Spirit-land four days 
subsequently. 

Frances Slocum sleeps upon a beautiful knoll near 
the confluence of the Missisinewa and the Wabash, by 
the side of her chief and her children, where her ash- 
es will rest in peace until the morning of the resur- 
rection. The tenacity with which she clung to that 
spot, and her obstinate refusal to leave it for the asso- 
ciation of civil society, is one of the prominent facts in 
her wonderful story. 



284 



WYOMING. 



IX. 

queen Esther's rock: 

This celebrated rock is situated east of a direct line 
between the monument and the site of Fort Winter- 
moot, on the brow of the high, steep bank which is 
supposed to have been the ancient bank of the river. 




&2* 



The rock is a boulder, and is a sort of conglomerate, 
principally composed of quartz. It rises about eight- 
een inches above the surface of the ground. A por- 
tion of this rock is of a reddish color, which some have 
been credulous enough to believe to be a blood-stain ; 
hence the name of " Bloody Kock," by which it is 
known in the neighborhood. This stain — like that, 
with equal credulity, which is supposed to have been 
made by the blood of Eizzio upon the floor of Holyrood 
Palace — is believed to be judicially and miraculously 



queen Esther's rock. 285 

indelible. We need not say that this is a mere fancy, 
while it is an undoubted historical fact that blood was 
spilled upon this rock. 

Perhaps the night after the battle, sixteen prisoners 
were arranged in a circle around the rock in question, 
to be sacrificed by Queen Esther to the manes of a 
son who had been killed by a scouting-party before 
the battle. According to a usage of savage warfare, it 
was the right, if not, indeed, the duty of the old queen 
to take sweet vengeance upon the prisoners which 
had fallen into her hands for the loss of her son. 
Armed with a death-mall and hatchet, she now as- 
sumes the ofiice of executioner, according to the most 
approved Indian forms. The prisoners, one after an- 
other, were seated upon the rock, held by two strong 
Indians, while the priestess of the bloody rites which 
were performed upon that fatal altar chanted a savage 
dirge or Indian war-song, and raising the death-mall 
with both hands, dashed out the brains of the helpless 
victim, or with one hand buried her hatchet in his 
skull. 

This was a terrible tragedy, but we are happy to 
know that there was one relieving circumstance con- 
nected with it. There were two men in that devoted 
circle possessed of strong will, iron nerve, and almost 
lightning agility. Lebbeus Hammond and Joseph El- 
liott were near each other, and their turn was about to 
come. Eleven had been sacrificed, and Hammond's 
brother was seated upon the rock, and the ceremony 
was proceeding : Hammond's soul was stirred to the 
very bottom. As all eyes were fixed upon the bloody 
tragedy, Hammond, in a low tone, muttered, "Let's 
try." In an instant they were both free : they had 
taken their keepers by surprise. With a sudden jerk 



286 WYOMING. 

and spring the bloodhounds that held them were 
shaken off, and, like two wild deer, they bounded 
down the bank. They expected to be shot dead, but 
such was the confusion of the moment that the Indians 
simply trusted to their legs. Elliott, in relating the story 
to a friend who related it to us, said he was surprised 
that they were not fired upon. Their line of flight di- 
verged, a circumstance which the Indians did not ob- 
serve. Hammond steered up the river, and, glancing 
his eye over his shoulder, he discovered that the In- 
dians were shaping their course with the expectation 
of intercepting the fugitives in the direction of Forty 
Fort. He then turned still more directly up stream. 
He had, however, not proceeded far before a root 
caught his toe, and he was plunged headlong down 
the bank under a tree-top with thick foliage, where he 
immediately judged that he was more secure than he 
would be upon the run. 

When the Indians returned from the pursuit of El- 
liott, they scoured the hill side in search of Hammond. 
As they were peeping here and there among the brush 
and old logs, he tried to hold his breath and to keep 
his heart still, but in spite of him his breathing seemed 
to amount to a roar, and the beating of his heart to be 
like the pounding of a beetle. Once he thought they 
saw him, and for a moment his heart sunk. He was 
soon measurably relieved by observing that the In- 
dians seemed to give up the pursuit as hopeless, and 
directed their course toward the fatal rock. 

Hammond remained in his concealment until all 
was still, and then swam the river, crossing Monocasy 
Island, and found his way to the fort at Wilkesbarre. 
There he found his friend Elliott. He had swum the 
river to the bar on the lower point of Monocasy Isl- 



queen Esther's rock. 287 

and, as he thought, all the distance under water, when, 
rising above the water, he received a shot in his shoul- 
der which seriously disabled him. On reaching the 
opposite side of the river he providentially found a 
horse, which he managed to ride, using the bark of a 
hickory sapling for a bridle. Here Dr. Smith dressed 
his wound, and the next morning he went down the riv- 
er, with his wife and child, in a canoe managed by a lad, 
and found sympathy among kind friends at Catawissa. 
These two brave fellows lived long to enjoy their well- 
earned reputation for good conduct under the most ap- 
palling circumstances. 

It has been made a question whether indeed Queen 
Esther was the savage executioner of the prisoners at 
"Bloody Eock," and there are some circumstances 
which would really seem to militate against such a sup- 
position. Her strong expressions in favor of peace to 
Esquire Sutton and Colonel Jenkins, and the deep sym- 
pathies for the settlers which she manifested when visit- 
ed at her camp by Mrs. Bennet but a short time before 
seem to indicate a degree of civilization and a spirit of 
humanity which would render improbable the part at- 
tributed to her in the awful tragedy at Bloody Rock. 
In addition to all this, Colonel Stone considers " the 
statement improbable" upon more general grounds. 
He says, " Catharine Montour, sometimes called Queen 
Esther, was a half-breed, who had been well educated 
in Canada. Her reputed father was one of the French 
governors of that province when appertaining to the 
crown of France, and she herself was a lady of com- 
parative refinement. She was much caressed in Phil- 
adelphia, and mingled in the best society ; hence the 
remotest belief can not be entertained that she was the 
Hecate of that fell night." 



288 WYOMING. 

All this seems very fair, but it is not only against 
the best established traditions of the times, bnt the 
clearest testimony of contemporaries. Colonels Deni- 
son and Franklin and Mrs. Myers agree in sanction- 
ing "the statement." Mr. Miner represents Queen 
Esther as entering Forty Fort at the head of the In- 
dian warriors. She here met Colonel Denison, and, 
drawling out his name, she insultingly said, "Colonel 
Denison, you told me to bring more Indians ; see here, 
I have brought you all these." " Be silent," said Col- 
onel Butler ; " women should be seen, but not heard." 

The historian of Try on County, Hon. William W. 
Campbell, says, " Catrina Montour, who might well bo 
termed a fury, acted a conspicuous part in this tragedy. 
She followed in the train of the victorious army, ran- 
sacking the heaps of the slain, and, with her arms cov- 
ered with gore, barbarously murdering the wounded, 
who in vain supplicated for their lives." — See Border 
Warfare of Neiv York, p. 305. 

Another illustration is given by Mr. Campbell of the 
character of this woman. One of her sons made Mr. 
Cannon a prisoner on the destruction of Cherry Yalley. 
He was an old man, and was severely wounded with a 
musket ball. When Kate Montour saw him she fell 
into a rage, and reproached her son for his humanity. 
" Why," said she, " did you bring that old man a pris- 
oner ? Why did you not kill him when you first took 
him?"—- 2&&,p.219. 

Elliott and Hammond lived long after the conclu- 
sion of the war. They received a pension from the 
government, and were universally considered men of 
honor and veracity. These men, who so narrowly es- 
caped the death-mall or the hatchet — who witnessed a 
portion of the bloody ceremonies which Queen Esther 



queen Esther's rock. 289 

is charged in the popular belief of the times with hav- 
ing performed with her own hands, give their sanction 
to the common opinion. These facts are not easily 
disposed of. The name of the supposed " Hecate of 
that fell night" being " Catharine Montour" — her be- 
ing "a half-breed" — her having been "educated in 
Canada" — her " refinement" — her having been " ca- 
ressed in Philadelphia," and "mingling in the best so- 
ciety" there in 1744, may have furnished ground of 
doubt with regard to the truth of the story of " Bloody 
Rock" to the mind of Colonel Stone, but to minds less 
predisposed to vindicate the Indian character from the 
charge of inhuman cruelties, will do but little toward 
unsettling the best established traditionary belief and 
the positive statements of contemporaries, and even of 
eye-witnesses. 

The history of "Kate Montour," as a whole, fur- 
nishes no evidence of the improbability of the story 
of " Bloody Rock." Indeed, her savage nature exhib- 
ited itself on other occasions in a manner which proves 
but too clearly that it had not all been eradicated by 
the refined education which she received " in Canada." 
— See Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution, vol. i., p. 
358. 

The horror in which this same "Catharine Mon- 
tour" was held is seen in the treatment which she re- 
ceived from Colonels Hartley and Butler, and General 
Sullivan. In October, after the Wyoming massacre, 
Colonel Hartley, of the Pennsylvania line, joined Colo- 
nel Z. Butler, and they proceeded with 130 men to 
Sheshequin, where they met the Indians in a battle, 
burned the Indian settlement, and destroyed Queen 
Esther's palace, and laid waste her plantation. And 
when General Sullivan jjroceeded to the Lake country, 

N 



290 WYOMING. 

the first town he ordered destroyed was Catharine, at 
the head of the Seneca Lake, the town which was 
named in honor of Catharine Montour, and in which 
she resided. These proceedings seem consonant with 
the idea that Catharine Montour deserved special chas- 
tisement. 

It is not doubted but that this " half-breed" woman, 
uninfluenced by the war spirit, had amiable qualities, 
and a certain polish in her manners. But the sound 
of the battle and the sight of human gore aroused the 
demon within her. She who " shed tears" at the pros- 
pect of war, when it began to rage entered into its 
spirit. She had lost a son in the expedition, and she 
must avenge his death, or, in the estimation of her peo- 
ple, be " no good squaw." Her feelings of resentment 
and her reputation with the Indians united to urge her 
on, if, indeed, she needed any urging, to acts of savage 
barbarity. Then, if she had not been predisposed to 
take a part in the murder and plunder of the settlers, 
why was she on hand at all ? Her age, if no other rea- 
son — for she must have been near eighty — would have 
justified her remaining at home, instead of following 
Butler and his Indians and Tories in a murderous on- 
slaught upon a defenseless settlement. 

Upon the whole, we see no good reason for doubt- 
ing the part attributed to Catharine Montour, or Queen 
Esther, in the affair of Bloody Rock, in the popular 
traditions of Wyoming. A little examination into her 
character will explain the mystery of her being, under 
some circumstances, almost a saint, and under others a 
very fiend. 



THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 291 



X. 

CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF THOMAS AND ANDREW 

BENNET AND LEBBEUS HAMMOND. 

" Near where Meshoppen meets our river, 
When in the quiet night 
Through trees we saw the star-beams quiver, 

We nerved us for the fight. 
Where stood the arms we quickly drew, 

No gentle blows to strike or die ; 
Two wounded fled, the rest we slew, 
In ghastly death we saw them lie : 
E'en now I see them glare, as in cold death they lie." 

Susquehanna, an unpublished Poem. 

In 1779 General Sullivan had pursued the Indians 
with the scourge of war, and driven them west of the 
Genesee Biver. Colonel John Butler and Brant had 
been worsted at every point, and had fled to Niagara. 
It was obvious enough to the fierce braves that it was 
in vain to attempt to meet the Americans in force in 
the open field, but they shrewdly concluded to take 
vengeance upon them by visiting their settlements 
in small parties, and by stealthy approaches to take 
property and prisoners, or murder and scalp, as the 
case might be. They consequently, in small gangs, 
followed down General Sullivan upon the very heels 
of his army, and he had no sooner disposed the garri- 
son at Wilkesbarre, and crossed the mountain with 
his army, than the work of plunder and murder was 
resumed on the north and the west branches of the 
Susquehanna and on the Delaware. In some instances 
these parties were fearfully successful, and in others 
they met with a terrible retribution. 



292 WYOMING. 

The following is a true account, communicated by 
the parties engaged, of one of these savage expeditions, 
and the tragedy with which it wound up. 

On the 27th of March, 1780, Thomas Bennet, with 
his son Andrew, a lad of thirteen or fourteen years of 
age, commenced plowing on the flats on land now 
owned by Elijah Shoemaker, of Kingston. They took 
their guns with them, and tried to shoot some ducks 
in the river. Hiding their guns, they commenced 
their work. Their team consisted of a yoke of oxen 
and a horse, the boy riding the horse. They had been 
watched by four Indians, who stole up to the place 
where the guns were concealed and broke them. They 
then sprang upon Mr. Bennet and his son, and hurried 
them away. 

On the same morning, Lebbeus Hammond had left 
Wilkesbarre in pursuit of a fine horse, which he found 
on a place he had occupied a few miles up the river, 
on the west side. He made a bridle of hickory withes, 
and was proceeding homeward, when he saw moccasin 
tracks. He was much alarmed, and expected every 
minute to be fired upon. All at once two Indians 
leaped from the bushes, and one seized his horse, while 
the other pulled him off. After a brief consultation 
in Indian, which Hammond did not understand, they 
led him a short distance into the woods and pinioned 
his arms, and then tied him to a tree. In this situa- 
tion they left him for about an hour, when they re- 
turned with four others, having Bennet and his son as 
prisoners. Their greetings were such as might have 
been expected. Hammond had made an almost mi- 
raculous escape from" Bloody Kock," and Bennet was 
a notorious patriot, and their prospects now were any 
thing but agreeable. 



THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 293 

An Indian monnted Hammond's horse, but when 
they came to the marsh, which lies between the river 
and the mountain, he ran the horse into the mire and 
left him there. The Indians hurried on with their 
prisoners over the mountain, and lodged that night 
near the foot of " Cummings's Pond," in what is now 
ISTorthmoreland. The Indians evidently did not know 
the prisoners, for they left them unbound ; and Bennet 
was for attempting to escape, but Hammond thought 
it not possible to succeed, and the idea was given up. 
The next day they proceeded on to Bowman's Creek, 
and when they came into "the green woods" they 
found the snow " waistband deep." Of course it was 
laborious traveling, especially for a man of years like 
Mr. Bennet. But the party pushed on, and made what 
progress they could. Occasionally one of the Indians 
would yell horribly, as though he wished to attract 
the attention of another party. At length they met a 
party of about forty Indians, commanded by a white 
man — a Tory, of course. An old Indian belonging to 
the party sung out, "Ah! old Bennet; I'd rather see 
your scalp." 

Some of the Indians fell back and held a council, 
while the Tory asked Bennet many questions with re- 
gard to the situation of the fort, the number of fight- 
ing men, the number of inhabitants in the settlement, 
and the like. He was told that there were three hund- 
red fighting men in the fort, that they were well 
armed and provisioned, and that they had cannon, and 
that the settlers had all taken refuge there. They then 
concluded to strike the river below the fort. They 
divided their company into three parties, and com- 
mitted various outrages, some of which will be noticed 
in another connection. Before the two parties sep- 



294 WYOMING. 

arated, an Indian went np to a burnt stump and black- 
ened his face, and coming up to Mr. Bennet, be directed 
bis attention to bis face, with the significant sentence, 
" Ho ! Bennet." The movement was well understood. 
One of the party of Indians which they met joined 
their party, which made seven. 

That night the prisoners were pappoosed, that is, fast- 
ened down with poles laid across them, with an Indian 
on each end of the poles. The prisoners had as yet 
little or nothing to eat, and were heavily burdened 
with the luggage belonging to the Indians. Of course, 
they were worn down, and nearly ready to give up 
and die. The next day — the third day of their cap- 
tivity — Mr. Bennet accidentally pulled a button from 
his coat, and put it in his pocket. They were now 
searched, and the button being found, Bennet asked 
for it, saying he wished to put it on again. The In- 
dian flung it away, saying, "Fool, Bennet; only one 
day more. You die at Wyallusing." That day the 
Indians hunted for deer, and starting one, left the pris- 
oners a few rods behind, and gave them an opportuni- 
ty to consult. Bennet said to Hammond, " We must 
rise upon them to-night." " It will be a great under- 
taking," said Hammond, "but it may be our last 
chance." "They will kill me," answered Bennet, 
" and I know not with what cruel tortures. It may 
be we shall succeed, and if we do we will again return 
to our families ; but if I am to die, I will sell my life 
as dearly as possible." In the consultation the boy 
said little, but thought much. In his heart he said 
with Percy, 

11 1 tender you my service, 
Such as it is, being tender, raw, and young, 
"Which elder days shall ripen and confirm 
To more approved service and desert." 



THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 295 

How he acted his part will appear as the story pro- 
ceeds. The arrangement was made by the time the 
deer was taken, and the party proceeded to cross the 
river. They came up to the Meshappen, which was 
much swollen by the melted snow, and before they 
could venture to wade the stream they went up two 
or three miles. 

Having crossed the creek, and descended to the 
place of encampment near the Susquehanna, they 
built a fire under a shelving rock. While the Indians 
were seated around the fire, roasting and eating the 
meat of the deer, the leader of the party entered into 
conversation with Mr. Hammond. He spoke tolera- 
ble English, and seemed particularly free and commu- 
nicative. He said he had expected to meet a large 
company of Indians at that place, but he supposed 
they had encamped farther up the river. He then 
asked him various questions about the war. Would 
there be peace? Did the white men wish to make 
peace with the red men ? He had been told so. Did 
he know Lieutenant Boyd? Hammond said he was 
intimately acquainted with him. In September Boyd 
had been sent out with a reconnoitring party by Gen- 
eral Sullivan, in Genesee, and had been surrounded by 
a superior force, taken, and most barbarously tortured. 
The Indian said he led the party that took Boyd, and 
he further said, " Boyd brave man— as good a soldier 
as ever fought against the red man." He said they 
tortured Boyd, cut off his fingers and toes, plucked out 
his eyes, etc., " still brave Boyd neither asked for mer- 
cy nor uttered a complaint." Ah! " brave Boyd" 
knew very well the character of the Indians. 

"You may as well go stand upon the beach, 
And bid the main flood bate his usual height ; 



296 WYOMING. 

You may as well use question with a wolf, 

Why he hath made the ewe bleat for the lamb ; 

You may as well forbid the mountain pines 

To wag their high tops, and to make no noise 

When they are fretted with the gusts of heaven ; 

You may as well do any thing most hard, 

As seek to soften that — than which what's harder ? 

His [Indian] heart." Shakspeare. 

He then brought a sword and said, " There Boyd's 
sword." Hammond took the sword, and discovered 
the initials of Boyd's name stamped on the blade near 
the hilt. To the whole tale Hammond listened with- 
out expressing the slightest emotion, well knowing the 
consequences of the least manifestation of the indigna- 
tion which he felt burning in his bosom. 

When the Indians were ready to lie down, they 
pappoosed the prisoners as on the preceding night ; then 
they drew their blankets over their heads and fell into 
a sound sleep. One only seemed to be on the watch. 
About midnight Bennet manifested great uneasiness, 
and asked to get up. He received for answer, " Most 
day — lie down, dog." He insisted that he was sick, and 
must get up. About one o'clock the Indians all got 
up and relieved the prisoners, allowing them to get 
up and walk about. Bennet brought wood and flung 
it on the fire. In about two hours all the Indians 
were snoring again except the old watchman, and he 
commenced roasting the deer's head, first sticking it 
in the fire, and then scraping off the meat with his 
knife and eating it. Finally the old fellow began to 
nod over his early breakfast, Hammond placed him- 
self by an Indian axe, and Andrew Bennet, the boy, 
stood by the guns, which were stacked. Both watched 
the movements of Mr. Bennet, who was poking up the 
brands. He had on a long greatcoat, and, as he came 



THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 299 

round near the Indian, he cautiously took hold of a 
spontoon, or war-spear, which lay by his side, and 
stepped back with the instrument covered by his coat, 
holding it in a perpendicular position behind him. 
When he had reached the right point behind the In- 
dian he plunged it through him. He gave a tremen- 
dous jump and a hideous yell, and fell upon the fire. 

" If death so terrible appear, die thou. 
With cruel spear he lanced his naked side, 

Warm streams of blood his arms o'erflow : 
His panting bosom heaves with dying sighs, 

Hard lab'ring to retain departing breath ; 
At length he yields ; black darkness veils his eyes, 

Sealed in eternal sleep of iron death." 

Samuel Wesley — Battle of the Frogs and Mice. 

The spontoon was so firmly fixed in the body of the 
Indian that Bennet was obliged to abandon it, and to 
use a gun and a tomahawk during the rest of the fight. 
Hammond used the axe, dashing it into the head which 
was first lifted. The old Indian who had given the 
account of Boyd's massacre was the first to take the 
alarm. He yelled out " Chee-woo ! chee-woo /" when 
Hammond buried the head of the axe in his brains, 
and he fell headlong into the fire. The next blow 
took an Indian on the side of the neck, just below the 
ear, and he fell upon the fire, The boy snapped three 
guns, not one of which happened to be loaded, but his 
operations made the Indians dodge and jump straight 
under Hammond's axe, or the breech of a gun which 
old Mr. Bennet had clubbed, and with which he did 
terrible execution. A stout Indian undertook to se- 
cure a weapon by a rush upon the boy. He sprang 
upon him with the fury of a demon, his eyes seeming 
to blaze, when the brave little fellow swung the breech 
of a gun, and buried the cock in the top of his head. 



300 WYOMING. 

Just at that moment the only two Indians remaining 
alive took to their heels, when Mr. Bennet, who could 
throw a tomahawk with the precision and force of any 
red-skin on the frontier, picked up a tomahawk and 
let it slip, and it stuck in the back of one of them. 
The Indian turned round, being at about the distance 
of forty feet, and hollowed out " whoo," and his blanket 
fell from his shoulders, and the hatchet was left with 
it on the ground, he running off naked. 

It was an awful struggle, but it was not long. A 
minute and a half or two minutes, and the work was 
done. Five of the savages were piled up on and around 
the fire, and two had fled badly wounded. There was 
a great contrast between the present appearance of the 
Indian camp under the rock, and that same camp the 
evening before, when the bloodthirsty savage glo- 
ried in the barbarous deed of cutting off Boyd's fin- 
gers and toes, and pulling out his eyes ; and looked 
forward to, perhaps, the next night, when he would 
glut his savage vengeance in a similar manner upon 
the prisoners, who were obliged to listen to the recital 
without the slightest expression of sympathy for their 
brave companion and friend. The prisoners were now 
free, and no time was lost. They supplied themselves 
with good moccasins from the feet of the dead and 
dying Indians, and took guns and ammunition for de- 
fense, and blankets for their protection from the cold, 
and fifteen minutes from the moment the last blow 
was struck they were upon the line of march for their 
home and friends. 

THE FLIGHT OF HAMMOND AND THE BENNETS. 

The wounded Indians took a position on the side 
of the mountain where they had a fair view of the 



THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 301 

camp, and watched the movements of the victors. 
When they had gone, the poor wretches returned to 
see if any thing remained by which they might be 
saved from freezing or starvation. Here the misera- 
ble savages saw their companions, with whom they 
had shared common dangers and hardships, all gory 
and cold in death. They laid them down to sleep 
the stern, cruel masters of a band of helpless captives ; 
they awoke to see their own weapons in the hands of 
those captives, and to feel the cold steel which they 
had often stained with the blood of the white man. 
Their comrades were dead, and they were naked and 
helpless. This was a terrible lesson to the infuriated 
savages, and one they did not forget. 

The victors made their calculations to take as straight 
a course as possible through the woods to the u Ca- 
pouse Meadows," near where the flourishing town of 
Scranton is now located, avoiding all Indian trails. 
They pushed on up the Meshoppen about three miles. 
The stream was high and the current rapid ; but there 
was no alternative ; they must wade it, if possible, at 
that point. The two men took the boy between them, 
lest the angry current should sweep him away, and, 
with tremendous efforts, succeeded in reaching the 
other shore. The morning was extremely cold, and 
they had proceeded but a short distance before their 
clothes were frozen stiff. They had brought away with 
them no provisions of any kind, and such was the ex- 
citement under which they labored that they scarcely 
felt the need of any. They toiled on, alternately in- 
spired by hope and depressed with fear. The danger 
was that a fresh party of Indians might get upon their 
track and overtake them. 

They had reason to think that there was a large 



302 WYOMING. 

party above, and that party might meet the wounded 
Indians, and learn the story of the slaughter of their 
fellows, and give the escaped prisoners chase, or they 
might meet a party crossing over from the Delaware 
to the Susquehanna, and in either event there would 
be scarcely a ray of hope of their escaping the most 
barbarous tortures. The images of their loved ones 
at home stood before them every moment, and stimu- 
lated them to hold on their way. Every step brought 
them nearer the goal, and enlarged the space between 
them and the scene of the fearful tragedy at Meshop- 
pen. The excitement of the journey was little inferior 
to that of the terrible struggle with the savages through 
which they had just passed. Such fearful tension of 
the nerves can not long be endured, but for a time will 
almost perform miracles. They were hungry, but 
thought not of food ; weary, but there was no place of 
rest short of friends and home. From early dawn till 
late at night they were on full stretch, heeding noth- 
ing which they passed, and taking no note of time, 
simply marking the ranges of the hills which bordered 
the large streams which empty into the Susquehanna 
from the east. When they saw the last range peering 
up in the distance, they, like Paul when he saw " the 
Three Taverns," "thanked God and took courage." 

SAFE AT HOME AGAIN. 

Mr. Bennet was an old hunter and understood the 
ground. They kept their course, crossing the high 
ridges and deep valleys which lay across their path, 
generally being able to walk on the frozen crust, un- 
til, on the second day, they reached the south side of 
the mountain range northwest of the Lackawanna val- 
ley. Here they found bare ground, and now they 
paused occasionally for a few minutes and picked win- 



THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 303 

tergreen to eat. They pursued their journey down 
the side of the mountain to the mouth of the Lacka- 
wanna, and so found their way to the fort at Wilkes- 
barre after an absence of six days. The appearance 
of the Bennets and Hammond at the fort was an oc- 
casion of great joy, as they had been given up for 
lost. When the excitement passed off, there was little 
of life left in the returned captives. Nursing and rest 
finally brought up their emaciated forms and their ex- 
hausted spirits to their former condition. 

Lieutenant Boyd's sword was brought away by 
Hammond, and was afterward presented to his brother, 
Colonel John Boyd. 

As to the two Indians who escaped, one died in 
the woods from his wounds and subsequent expo- 
sure, and the one tomahawked by Mr. Bennet was 
taken up in a state of insensibility by a party of 
Indians coming over from the Delaware. After they 
had restored him to consciousness, he gave an account 
of the slaughter of the Indians by Hammond and the 
Bennets, which was communicated to Mr. Bennet in a 
letter from Esquire Consollus, who was a prisoner in 
the party, and listened to the Indian's story. 

Seven years after the terrible scene which we have 
described, at an Indian treaty held at Newtown, Ham- 
mond saw the old Indian who had been wounded by 
the tomahawk, considerably disfigured, walking with 
his head bowed. Hammond was not altogether certain 
that he was the same Indian, and requested a friend 
to ask him what was the cause of his stooping. When 
the question was asked, the Indian promptly replied, 

" A Yankee tomahawk me at Wyoming." The 

poor fellow lingered out a wretched existence for sev- 
eral years, and then was drowned in crossing the Ca- 
nisteo, falling from a foot-bridge. 



304 WYOMING. 



XL 

THE CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF JONAH ROGERS, MOSES 
VAN CAMPEN, PETER PENCE, AND ABRAM PIKE. 

"To kill man-killer, man has lawful power, 
But not the extended license to devour." 

Dryden. 

In the account given in the preceding section of 
the capture of the Bennets and Hammond, it is stated 
that they met a large party of Indians, led by a Tory, 
on their way to Wyoming. This company divided 
into three parties, and made their descent upon the 
settlers at the foot of the valley, and on the west 
branch. The information which they received from 
Mr. Bennet induced them to keep clear of the neigh- 
borhood of the fort, which was what he designed to 
accomplish by his strong representation of the strength 
of the garrison and the security of the settlers. 

On the 29th of March, ten of these Indians in a 
gang, at daybreak, surprised Upson and Eogers, who 
were camped out, making sugar, on what was called 
" Stuart's Flats," at the lower extremity of Wyoming 
Valley. Upson was killed and scalped. Mrs. Myers 
says the Indians poured boiling sap down his throat 
as he lay on his back asleep, with his mouth open. 
This account was extensively circulated and believed, 
but Eogers says he was shot. Eogers was thirteen 
years of age, and has left a written statement of his 
captivity and deliverance, which is now before us. 
He was taken prisoner, and told that he " must go to 
Niagara." They put a blanket around him, and he 



ROGERS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 305 

submitted with apparent cheerfulness, saying, "I will 
go and be an Indian too." They left the river, and 
went through the woods to " Big Fishing Creek." 
Here they surprised another encampment, where Mr. 
Van Campen, his two sons, and Peter Pence were mak- 
ing sugar. This was on the morning of the 30th of 
March. Mr. Yan Campen was shot and speared, and 
one of his sons tomahawked and flung into the fire, 
while the eldest son and Pence were made prisoners. 
The savages hastened on to another "sugar camp," 
where they found another Yan Campen and two sons, 
brother to the one previously killed. They murdered 
Mr. Yan Campen and his youngest son, and took the 
other, a lad twelve years of age, and took the back 
track. On the road from Shickshinny to Huntington, 
the Indians saw " signs of Yankoos." Six of the In- 
dians took the road, and surprised four men. Shots 
were exchanged, and Parks and Eansom were wound- 
ed ; but, taking refuge in a house near by, the Indians 
left them. The two fractions of the company were 
united the next morning in Dallas. They started early, 
and soon saw fresh shoe-tracks. The leader, who spoke 
good English, said to Yan Campen, " Call." On his 
doing so, some one answered, and soon Abram Pike 
came in sight, and nine Indians seized him. He fell 
on his knees, and cried " Quarter ! quarter !" His 
wife and a child were with him in a sugar camp, and 
the Indians painted her, and told her to go home. The 
leader of the party said, " Joggo-squaw, tell Captain 
Butler me captain too." 

This gang were now well freighted with prisoners. 
Besides the boys and young Pence, they had two mil- 
itary characters of considerable importance. Yan 
Campen had been lieutenant in a company of volun- 



306 WYOMING. 

teers, and quarter-master under General Sullivan dur- 
ing his expedition against the Indians, and Pike was a 
British deserter. Pike had been in the Continental 
army under General Washington ; came into the Val- 
ley before the Indian battle ; had his thigh broken in 
the battle, and escaped down the river before the ca- 
pitulation. He had on a coat of the Continental uni- 
form, which marked him in the eye of the Indians as a 
considerable prize. They knew not his former rela- 
tions to the English army, but from the buttons on his 
coat they concluded he was an American officer, and 
they called him, by way of eminence, " Congless." 

Pike was an Irishman, strongly marked with the 
peculiarities of his race. He was witty and roguish, 
presuming and adventurous. It used to be told of 
him that, when in Washington's army on the Hudson, 
he and three other fellows stole by the sentry in the 
night, crossed the river, and broke into a store near 
the enemy's lines. His comrades were shot, and he 
narrowly escaped. He was reported in the morning, 
and, on being brought before the general, he said, 
" Plase your excellency, I went over with three boys 
to make a prisoner of the English officer, but we had 
bad luck." The general, turning to his staff and smil- 
ing, said, "Did you ever see such a set of foolhardy 
fellows? Four of them went to capture the British 
general ! Pike, go to your duty." 

Pike was always poor, but always preserved an air 
of independence. He used to say, " The world owed 
him a living, and he was determined not to be chated 
out of it." He sometimes committed petty thefts, and 
always avoided the penalties of the law, either from 
the kind consideration of the party injured, or by some 
stroke of Irish wit. He was once brought before a 



ROGERS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 307 

magistrate charged with having stolen a silver spoon. 
The evidence was circumstantial, and not very con- 
clusive. Pike solemnly denied the charge, and ap- 
pealed to all the saints for the truth of the denial. 
"Well," said the squire, "I will swear you, Pike." 
" Jist as your honor plases about that," was the re- 
ply. Pike kissed the Bible, and still positively denied 
any knowledge of the spoon. The complainant, being 
shrewd, and knowing the soldier well, then said, " Now, 
Pike, if you will lift up your hand, and swear by the 
honor of a soldier that you did not take the spoon, I 
will let you off." The court said, " Pike, lift up your 
hand." Pike looked wise, and, shrugging up his 
shoulders and shaking his head, said, " The de'il a bit ;" 
and, thrusting his hand into his bosom, he drew out 
the spoon and dashed it upon the table, exclaiming, 
" Troth, an' I'll not violate the honor of a soldier for 
all the spoons in America." The owner took his 
spoon, and the squire laughed heartily. Pike was 
finally discharged with a reprimand. 

The company now commenced their march for the 
north. They encamped before they reached Bau- 
man's Creek. Early the next morning they set off, 
and that day came to their canoes, in which they cross- 
ed the Susquehanna above Tunkhannock, and then set 
them afloat. That night they encamped on the Me- 
shappen, but how they passed without observing the 
scene of Bennets' and Hammond's slaughter of the In- 
dians, which had occurred but two days before, direct- 
ly in their path, it is difficult to say. There was no 
doubt a providence in this, for the discovery would 
have provoked them to put their prisoners to torture 
without delay, or would at least have put them upon 
their guard. 



308 WYOMING. 

On the next day, April 1st, Mr.Eogers says, "There 
was some talk of trying to make our escape, as we came 
across flocks of deer, which gave the prisoners an op- 
portunity of being by themselves. Pike, upon inquiry, 
found out who was the commanding officer at Niagara, 
and said he knew him as well as he did his father. He 
swore that he would that night be a/ree man or a dead 
man. He well knew his fate should he reach Niagara." 

Van Campen says, "It came into my mind that 
sometimes individuals performed wonderful actions, 
and surmounted the greatest dangers ; I then thought 
that these fellows must die, as well as of the plan to dis- 
patch them." Their views were compared and their 
plans matured. That night was the time, for later than 
that time they might be in the hands of a large body 
of Indians, who would certainly put to torture the first 
prisoners they should secure after the ravages of the 
American army in their country. Such was the rea- 
soning of the prisoners, and such their conclusions. 

The spirit of liberty struggled in the bosom of these 
brave fellows : to them the hazards of an unequal fight 
were preferable to the exigencies of captivity among 
the savages. With the poet they said : 

"Thy spirit, Independence, let me share, 
Lord of the lion-heart and eagle-eye : 
Thy steps I follow with my bosom bare, 

Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky." 

Smollett. 

That night they encamped near the river, about fif- 
teen miles below Tioga Point, not far from the mouth 
of the Wysox. The prisoners brought wood and made 
up a good fire. How they were to get loose from their 
pinions was a question. As the boy Eogers had not 
been pinioned, it was presumed he would still be left 



ROGERS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 309 

free, and he could help them to the " wood-hatchets" 
and a knife. The prisoners were pinioned and laid 
down, each one between two Indians. When all were 
sound asleep, Kogers arose, and secured a knife and 
gave it to Pike, and at the same time put an axe in the 
way of Van Campen, and returned to his place. " Pike 
cut himself loose, and then cut the other prisoners 
loose." So says Mr. Eogers, albeit Mr. Van Campen 
says, " I slipped to Pence, who rose ; I cut him loose, 
and handed him the knife ; he did the same for me. 
I, in turn, took the knife and cut Pike loose ; in a mo- 
ment's time we disarmed them." Pike's account agrees 
with that of Rogers, that he cut (fie prisoners loose. And, 
according to him, while he took away the guns, Van 
Campen and Pence, each with an axe in his hand, re- 
sumed their position, with the understanding that, 
should the Indians take the alarm before the guns 
were removed, they should each dispatch the two In- 
dians which lay by their side. The guns were all re- 
moved, and set up by a tree at a short distance. All, 
so far, seems probable and well planned; but after 
this, Pike's story and Van Campen's differ widely. 
According to Pike, he next proceeded to take the 
blankets from the Indians, that they might freeze if 
they should escape. He pulled off their blankets, and 
they shrugged their shoulders and shivered, but slept 
on until he had uncovered the last one, when, in step- 
ping over him, he hit him with his toe, upon which he 
rifted up his head and exclaimed " Woo !" Then the 
slaughter began. Rogers says, "An Indian awaked 
and began to jabber." Van Campen and Rogers agree 
in saying that Pence fired upon them ; he, of course, 
must have sprung to the guns during the first on- 
slaught. Several — it is not certain how many — were 



310 WYOMING. 

slaughtered at the first onset, and the remainder fled 
a few paces to the woods ; but, finding themselves 
naked and defenseless, they made a rush upon the 
prisoners, when nearly all shared the same fate. Pence 
fired ; Pike dealt out heavy blows with his axe, first 
using the head and then the edge, as Kogers reports, 
while Yan Campen had a grapple with a stout fellow 
whom he had wounded, which is thus graphically de- 
scribed by himself: " There was one — his name was Mo- 
hawk — a stout, bold, daring fellow. In the alarm he 
jumped off about three rods from the fire; he saw 
that it was the prisoners that made the attack, and, 
giving the war-whoop, he darted to take possession of 
the guns; I was as quick to prevent him; the con- 
test was then between him and myself. As I raised 
my tomahawk, he turned to jump from me ; I followed 
him and struck at him, but missed his head : my toma- 
hawk struck his shoulder, or, rather, the back of his 
neck ; he pitched forward and fell ; at the same time, 
my foot slipped, and I fell by his side ; we clinched ; 
his arm was naked ; he caught me around the neck ; 
at the same time, I caught him with my left arm around 
the body, and gave him a close hug, feeling for his 
knife, but could not reach it. In our scuffle my toma- 
hawk dropped out ; my head was under the wounded 
shoulder, and I was almost suffocated with the blood. 
I made a violent spring, and broke his hold ; we both 
arose at the same time, and he ran. It took me some 
time to clear the blood from my eyes ; my tomahawk 
got covered up, and I could not find it in time to over- 
take him. He was the only one of the party that es- 
caped." 

"Now cuffing close, now chasing to and fro, 
Now hurtling round advantage for to take, 



ROGEKS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 311 

As two wild boares together grappling go, 
Chaufing and foaming choler each against his foe. 
At last they have all overthrown to ground 
Quite topside turvey, and the pagan hound 
Amongst the iron hooks and grapples run, 
Torn all to rags, and rent with many a wound." 

Spenser. 
The bloody tragedy closed, and Eogers began to 
jump up and down. Pike, frantic with joy, gave him 
a blow on the side of the head which felled him to the 
ground. They remained in the camp until morning; 
Yan Campen, recovering the scalps of his father and 
other, relatives, and scalping the Indians, strung the 
scalps on his belt. Early in the morning the victors 
gathered up the plunder and proceeded to the river. 
They constructed a raft, which proved insufficient; it 
sunk under them, and they lost nearly all their plun- 
der. They traveled down as far as "the Narrows," 
where they saw a smoke, and had no doubt an Indian's 
camp was there. After a little reconnoitring, they dis- 
covered that the Indians had left, probably upon a 
hunting expedition. They found a new raft, which 
they immediately took possession of, and paddled off 
with all their might. Just as they were out of danger, 
the Indians made their appearance on the shore and 
fired upon them, but without effect. They landed on 
an island, and made themselves as comfortable as pos- 
sible for the night. 

Yan Campen tells a ludicrous story of Pike, of what 
he says occurred that night. They heard a noise, and 
Pike, supposing it to be the tread of an Indian, was 
much alarmed. He, Yan Campen, "kept watch, and 
soon a noble raccoon came under the light." He 
shot the raccoon, "when Pike jumped up and called 
out, ' Quarter, gentlemen— quarter, gentlemen.' " He 



312 WYOMING. 

took the raccoon by the leg, and threw it down by 
the fire, saying, " Here, you cowardly rascal, skin that, 
and give us a roast for supper." This story is wholly 
incredible upon any other supposition than that Pike 
was merely exhibiting a little of his Irish humor; 
more, it is wholly inconsistent with Mr. Kogers's ac- 
count of the facts of this famous retreat. 

According to Mr. Eogers, they left the scene of con- 
flict, and landed on the island on the 2d of April. 
He says, " April 3d, early, crossed on to the west side, 
and traveled with nothing to eat. We have now been 
two days without any thing to eat." Where was that 
"noble raccoon" which the "cowardly rascal" Pike 
was ordered to dress and prepare "a roast for sup- 
per?" 

" April 4, traveled all day ; nothing to eat but a 
small piece of dead deer we found." The deer had 
died of wounds which it had received, and had began 
to decay. The flesh was a sorry morsel for any but 
starving men. At this point the boy Eogers became 
overcome with fatigue, and besought his friends to let 
him lie down and die. Pike took him upon his back, 
and encouraged him to keep heart. He said to his 
companions, "I'll tak' the boy to his mother, or I'll 
die in the struggle." After a little rest on the back 
of the old Irish soldier, the lad plucked up courage 
and went on. 

"April 5, traveled all day; nothing to eat. April 
6, came to the river not far from Esquire Sutton's, in 
Exeter. About the middle of the afternoon we killed 
a deer. I ran, and before it was dead I had a piece in 
my mouth." He paid but little attention to the "hair 
and skin," but forced the quivering flesh between his 
teeth, as he says, " until the blood dropped from my 



ROGERS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 313 

mouth. It was the sweetest morsel I ever tasted." 
The same day, at nine o'clock, they arrived at Wilkes- 
barre. The journal concludes: 

" Friday, April 7, I went from Wilkesbarre to 
Plymouth, to my parents, who received me as one from 
the dead." 

This wonderful tale we have drawn up partly from 
Mr. Van Campen's narrative, found in his memorial to 
Congress asking for a pension, partly from a brief nar- 
rative written by Mr. Eogers, which has been in the 
hands of John Bennet, Esq., of Kingston, since 1830, 
and which he has kindly allowed us to use, and part- 
ly from our own recollection of a verbal relation of 
the circumstances by Abram Pike in 1818. There is 
some clashing between Yan Campen's story and Pike's. 
Each makes himself the great hero of the tragedy, and 
makes the other a "coward." In this they were both 
influenced by prejudice, and are both wrong. Colonel 
Stone, in the second edition of his history of Wyoming, 
fully credits Yan Campen, and brands Pike with cow- 
ardice. The colonel was misled by Yan Campen's me- 
morial. Pike was a regularly disciplined soldier; was 
in the Indian battle, and escaped by swimming down 
the river a mile or more with his thigh broken. " Ser- 
geant Pike, the Indian Killer," as he was often famil- 
iarly called, was no coward ; nor were either of his 
comrades in that heroic exploit "at the mouth of the 
Wysox" cowards. The testimony of Jonah Eogers, 
which we now have in writing from under his own 
hand, is entirely reliable, and he gives the two con- 
testants for the honor about an equal measure of 
credit. 

The account which Pike gives us of his pulling off 
the blankets from the Indians is scarcelv credible; 

O 



814 WYOMING. 

and a portion of the story of Van Campen's grapple 
with " Mohawk," while Pike and Pence were on hand, 
is doubtful. It is hardly likely that they would stand 
by and see their comrade so near being killed by a 
wounded Indian, and finally let him escape, when all 
the company excepting him were dead or dying. 
The main facts are indisputably true ; as to some of 
the particulars, it is not strange that there should be 
some diversity, and even contradictions in the differ- 
ent relations. Van Campen's story was published 
after Pike and Eogers were both dead, and, so far as 
it is unnaturally in his own favor, and against one 
of his companions in captivity and danger, it is to be 
taken with a large discount. 

The stories of Pike and Rogers were as familiar in 
the country as household words for many years, while 
they were both living in the same neighborhood, and 
they were always understood to agree in all essential 
particulars. When Pike related the tale to us, it was 
in the presence and at the instance of old Mrs. Reyn- 
olds, of Truxville, who had heard it so often that she 
understood it perfectly, and would have marked the 
slightest variation from the known truth of the his- 
tory. "We have made these remarks from a regard to 
historical truth, and without the slightest prejudice 
against or in favor of either of the parties. 



GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 315 



XII. 

THE CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF GEORGE P. RANSOM 

AND OTHERS. 

George P. Eansom was the son of Captain Samuel 
Ransom, who was one of the three men who arrived 
just in time to engage in the battle and fall upon the 
field of gore and slaughter. — See Mrs. Myers's account 
of the battle, p. 158. 

The subject of this sketch entered the army at the 
commencement of the Revolutionary war, at the age 
of fourteen. He served for two years as his father's 
waiter. When Wyoming was threatened with an in- 
vasion from the Indians and Tories, two companies 
which had been raised in Wyoming, under the com- 
mand of Captains Ransom and Durkee, were consoli- 
dated into one, and sent on under the command of 
Captain Simon Spaulding. This company was en- 
camped at Merwin's, thirty-three miles from the Val- 
ley, on the night of the battle * On the following day, 
a scout was sent on in advance to learn the position " 
of affairs. The scout met the fugitives, who gave 
them the sad intelligence of the defeat and slaughter 
of the little patriot army, and that the settlement was 
in the possession of the Indians and Tories. Upon 
their return, Captain Spaulding proceeded with his 
men to Stroudsburg. 

After a delay there of several weeks, Spaulding's 

* So say the historians ; but Colonel Hollenback is represented as 
locating Spaulding's company on that night at Bear Creek, twenty- 
four miles nearer Wyoming. 



816 WYOMING. 

company, together with some of the settlers under the 
leadership of Colonel Butler, proceeded to the Valley, 
and buried the dead who lay upon the battle-field. 
Young Ransom was in the company, and, after diligent 
search among the slain, was finally enabled to identify 
the body of his father from his shoe and knee buckles. 
His head was severed from his body, and the body 
was much burned. Another son of Captain Ransom 
who was in the battle had his arm broken by a ball, 
and escaped by swimming the river and diving when 
the savages shot at him from the shore. 

George P. Ransom joined Sullivan's army, was in 
the battle at Newtown, and shared in all the dangers 
and hardships of the expedition into the Indian coun- 
try. He related with much interest the circumstance 
of Luke Swetland's meeting the army. Swetland had 
been taken prisoner by the Indians in August, 1778, 
and had managed to make his escape. When he met 
the army, supposing he had fallen in with Butler's 
Tories, he asked if they had heard any thing of " the 
rebel army," when, taking him for a stray Tory, 
the soldiers commenced abusing him with kicks and 
cuffs. Fortunately, young Ransom happened to be 
near him, and sung out, "Is that you, Swetland?" 
"Good God!" exclaimed Swetland, "is there any one 
here that knows me?" The course of treatment was 
now suddenly changed from abuse to hearty congrat- 
ulations, and the supposed Tory was taken into the 
arms of his Yankee brothers, and, with them, returned 
to his beloved Wyoming after more than a year's ab- 
sence. 

Upon the return of the army to the Valley Mr. 
Ransom obtained a furlough, and visited his friends at 
Plymouth. On one Sunday evening in December, 



GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 317 

1780, young Kansom, with two other young men, paid 
a visit to a house where were three young ladies, for 
the purpose of whiling away an hour or two in pleas- 
ant chat. When they had become agreeably engaged 
in soft nonsense and relating yarns, three heavy raps 
fell upon the door. The party knew well the signal, 
and looked around for some way of escape. Upon 
looking out of the windows they found them guarded, 
and, turning to the door, in rushed a band of Indians 
and Tories, and made captives of the whole company. 
The lovers were now, in sorry plight, hurried up the 
mountain, and at a suitable distance from the settle- 
ment the Indians and Tories prepared to encamp. 
Before they had concluded their arrangements for the 
night they let the girls go. Two of them— Lucy Har- 
vey and Eachel Bullock— took a bee-line to the fort 
at Wilkesbarre. 

The venerable Charles Harris, now eighty-nine years 
of age, was on duty as a sentinel that night. He was 
then a lad, and wide awake for Indians. He says, "I 
saw something black, and I thought it moved. I was 
first at a loss to know what to do ; I thought it might 
be an Indian stealing up to shoot me ; but, as it might 
be a friend, I concluded to call out. < Who is there ?' 
I demanded. A female voice answered, <A friend.' 
Then advance, said I, and up came the two girls, and 
told me the story of their capture and release, and said 
that the Indians and Tories had the three young men, 
and were going off with them to Niagara. I awoke 
Colonel Butler, and he ordered the alarm-gun fired. 
When it was fired it created terrible confusion ; an 
Irishman jumped out of his bed and ran to the door 
roaring, and appeared to be half scared to death." 
The prisoners on the mountain heard the alarm- 



318 WYOMING. 

gun, and from that concluded that their lady -loves had 
safely reached the garrison. The prisoners were tied, 
and the Indians and Tories lay down in a ring around 
them. Before they laid themselves down, one of the 
Tories told the prisoners, with great emphasis, that if 
either of them escaped, the Indians would kill the oth- 
ers. When all were asleep, Kansom thought of mak- 
ing his escape, and succeeded in untying the rope 
which confined his arms. They were situated on the 
brow of a hill, and he had no doubt but he could dash 
down the hill among the bushes, and escape without 
harm. But then he thought of his companions in cap- 
tivity. From the manner in which the Tory had pre- 
monished them of the consequences of the escape of any 
one of them, he had no reason to doubt but the threat 
would be executed, and that, too, under circumstances 
of savage barbarity. Upon reflection, he tied the rope 
as it was before. He could not sleep; his thoughts 
were busy. What would become of him ? He wore the 
uniform of Sullivan's army ; he remembered the fate 
of "brave Boyd ;" and, almost without willing it, the 
rope was again slipped. He looked upon the darkness 
down the hill side ; he was upon the point of leaping 
over the ring of Indians and Tories ; he held himseli 
down ; he did the deed in imagination over and over. 
But ah! his two companions in captivity — their fate 
brought him up again. He could have no hope of 
releasing them. One might escape, loose as he then 
was, but to liberate the other two, and for all to run 
away, would be beyond the bounds of all rational prob- 
ability. Here he paused, and finally drew the knot up 
again, and waited for daylight, resolving to share a 
common fate with his companions in captivity. 

When the day broke the company made prepara- 



GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 319 

tions to move on. They loaded the prisoners with 
heavy packs, and moved up the river. It was in the 
month of December, and they suffered much from fa- 
tigue and cold, besides being nearly starved. At 
Tioga Point they killed a horse, and kept in tolerable 
case while their horse-beef lasted. Kansom was known 
from his dress to have been in the army which had 
devastated the Indian country, and of course was 
singled out as a special object of vengeance. Before 
they reached Niagara they fell in with a large body 
of Indian families, and now it was time to proceed with 
some ceremony of savage cruelty, in which all who 
had suffered from the invasion of the " rebel army" 
might have a taste of sweet vengeance on their ene- 
mies. The method resorted to was one of the milder 
sort in use among the Indians. 

Kansom was seated on a log, and was told by the 
Tories that the Indians were about to whip him. The 
law which governed this ceremony was that the whole 
body of Indians, squaws, and pappooses would pass by 
him in single file, and each one would give him a blow : 
he might dodge, but must not leave the log ; if he did, 
he would be killed. The procession was formed, ev- 
ery one having in hand some weapon, generally being 
armed with sticks or whips. The old chief came up 
at the head of the procession, and, taking him by the 
hand, muttered out something in his own language, 
and gave him a blow. Then came the queen squaw 
and did the same. Then followed about forty Indians, 
then about as many squaws. Last of all came on the 
young brood, and they struck their blow, some of them 
showing the venom of young vipers. The victim of 
this savage cruelty dodged the blows so adroitly that 
he was not much injured excepting in one instance : a 



320 WYOMING. 

young Indian, with murderous intent, flung a toma- 
hawk at his head, which would have cloven his skull 
had he not dropped his head down as quick as light- 
ning. The deadly weapon passed over his head, but 
struck his back near the lower extremity of the spine, 
and inflicted an injury, the effects of which he felt, at 
times, through the rest of his life. 

The prisoners were ten or twelve days in reaching 
Niagara. They were soon removed to what was call- 
ed " Prisoners' Island," in the St. Lawrence, forty-five 
miles above Montreal, where there were one hund- 
red and sixty-six American prisoners. The follow- 
ing account of the treatment which the prisoners re- 
ceived there is from Mr. Kansom's own hand, and is 
taken from Miner's History. He says, " We were 
guarded by Kefugees, or what was called Tories, that 
belonged to Sir John Johnson's second regiment. 
The commanding officer of the guard on the isl- 
and was a young Scotchman by the name of M'Al- 
pin, about eighteen years of age. The winter was 
very severe, and a great snow-storm came and drifted 
before the door of the guard, who sent for some of the 
American prisoners to come and shovel it away. 
They refused, saying they were prisoners of war, and 
he had no right to set them at work for his pleasure. 
Enraged at this, the officer ordered them into irons, 
and directed others to take the shovels and go to work : 
these also refused and were ironed. So he went on 
commanding and meeting with resolute disobedience 
to what they considered a tyrannical order. They 
had taken up arms and periled their lives to resist 
British tyranny, and would not now, though prison- 
ers, submit to it. Some were ironed two together, 
some to a bar four together ; but he kept putting on 



GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 321 

irons as long as lie had handcuffs left. Among the last 
who refused were myself and one William Palmeters. 
We were then put into an open house without floor 
or windows, and directions given that we should have 
neither victuals, brandy, nor tobacco ; but our faithful 
friends contrived to evade the guard, and we were fur- 
nished with all. There we remained all night, suffer- 
ing extremely from the cold. The next morning 
M'Alpin came, thinking our spirits were broken, and 
demanded if we would not shovel now. All answered 
in a word, 'Not for a Tory.' He then took us out 
of that place and put us into a hut just finished, with 
a good floor, and we sent for a black man, a good fid- 
dler, for we had two on the island. We then opened 
our ball, dancing, to keep ourselves warm, jigs, horn- 
pipes, four and six-handed reels. Where four were 
ironed to one bar, they could dance the cross-handed, 
or what we called the York reel. We continued in 
this merry mood until our Scotch gentleman found the 
place was too good for us. He then took us out and 
put us into a loft of one of the huts, which stood so 
low that a man could stand up only under the centre 
of the ridge. There we were kept in extreme suffer- 
ing two days and nights. In the mean time, M'Alpin 
sent for Charles Grandison, our fiddler, and ordered 
him to play for his pleasure. The black went, but 
firmly declared that he would not play while his fel- 
low-prisoners were in irons. The officer then ordered 
a sort of court-martial, composed of Tories, who, of 
course, brought in the poor negro guilty. The sen- 
tence of the court was that he should be stripped, tied 
up, and receive ten lashes on his naked back, which 
was done. While smarting with the lash, the officer 
asked if he would fiddle as he was ordered. ' No ; 

02 



822 WYOMING. 

not while my fellow-prisoners are in irons,' was his 
answer. Again he was tied up and ten lashes laid on ; 
but his firmness was not to be shaken, and the officer 
sent him to his hut. 

" M'Alpin then sent a party of soldiers to bring up 
some of the prisoners, several of whom were flogged 
severely ; and one, against whom the Tories had a par- 
ticular spite, was tied neck and heels, a rope put around 
his neck, and he was thus drawn up to the chamber 
floor and kept until he was almost dead, let down and 
then drawn up again. One John Albright, a young 
Continental soldier, was flogged almost to death for 
speaking his mind freely. But not one American was 
found to shovel snow." 

On the opening of spring, Kansom and his two fel- 
low-prisoners, James Butterfleld and John Brown, 
were permitted to make gardens for themselves. They 
planned their beds with some taste. They now con- 
ceived the project of making a raft and escaping on it. 
They laid out their work and proceeded, one keeping 
watch while the other two worked. They put to- 
gether old sticks, and whatever they could procure 
that could be used, and bound them together, and, as 
fast as they proceeded, they contrived to bury their 
work under the sand, leaving the surface in the form 
of a bed, the outer rails of their raft seeming to be de- 
signed to keep the earth from washing away. 

There is some truth as well as poetry in the lines of 
Dryden : 

"For there's the folly that's still mixed -with fear, 
Cowards more blows than any heroes bear ; 
Of fighting sparks some may their pleasures say, 
But 'tis a bolder thing to run away." 

They provided themselves with some bread, pork, 



GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 323 

and salt, and on the 9th of June, just after sundown, 
they dug out the raft and committed themselves to the 
treacherous current. Their paddles were round sticks 
flattened at the end with a pocket-knife. They pulled 
out with might and main, and had but just got under 
way before the alarm-gun bellowed and reverberated 
like terrible thunder. The thick darkness now cover- 
ed the fugitives, and they were borne down the cur- 
rent on their crazy raft, to what haven they knew not. 
Their raft being constructed of old materials, it absorb- 
ed the water until it ran so deep that the adventurous 
passengers sat in the water some eighteen inches. That 
was an anxious night, and as perilous as anxious. The 
doubt which harassed their minds was whether they 
would not be wrecked and drowned, or be obliged to 
land where they would be an easy prey to the British 
soldiers or the Indians. 

At daybreak they landed on the Canada side, and 
when they attempted to raise themselves to their feet 
they found it impossible. Their lower limbs were 
stiff, being benumbed with their long continuing mo- 
tionless under water. They succeeded in pulling 
themselves to land by some bushes, and then com- 
menced rubbing their legs and whipping them with 
switches. Finally they could walk, and they moved on 
down the river, and concealed themselves for the day 
under the trees in a windfall. When night came they 
started on, looking out for some sort of craft in which 
they could find their way across to the American side. 
They saw a bark canoe, but were kept at bay by two 
savage dogs, which it was not possible for them to paci- 
fy. Soon after this they found two bark canoes lying- 
near each other. They took possession of these light 
vessels, and soon found the American shore. They 



324 WYOMING. 

now directed their course toward the head of Lake 
Champlain. 

Their bread was wet and spoiled ; they saved their 
meat and salt. In a written account of this wonderful 
escape, which we have received from Mr. Samuel Ran- 
som, son of Colonel George P. Ransom, it is said that 
their meat lasted them seven days, and then they were 
left without food. They concealed themselves in the 
daytime for six days, and traveled by night. Their 
way lay through a fearful swamp, where for more than 
a week they could find no water fit to drink. They 
traveled with forked sticks, and with these they cap- 
tured snakes and frogs, upon which they lived for 
more than a week. 

They all became exceedingly weak, and one of the 
company came to the conclusion that he must lie down 
and die. The other two stimulated him on by telling 
him that if he died they would fill their packs with 
his flesh and eat it. This terrible threat drove him on 
for a while, but he became feverish, and evidently could 
go no farther. Providentially they came to a beautiful 
spring of water. He drank, and lay down by the side 
of it. He insisted upon being left, as it was better for 
him to die alone than for the whole company to per- 
ish, and no one be left to tell their story. Upon the 
whole, it was concluded to make the best provision 
for the poor fellow they could, and then go on. They 
accordingly gathered a pile of wood, caught a quantity 
of frogs and snakes, and built a brush booth over him, 
and bade him farewell. 

Now Mr. Ransom and one of his companions pro- 
ceeded, but with feeble and faltering steps, being near- 
ly exhausted. On the fourteenth day of their adven- 
turous journey they found two old horses. Their first 



GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 825 

idea was to kill one of them and lill their packs. The 
next thought was the wisest one — that was, to mount 
the horses, and let them go where they would, presum- 
ing they would take them to some habitation of man. 
This plan succeeded. The horses brought them to a 
house where there was a kind-hearted old lady. She 
saw their condition, and gave them half a pint of milk 
each, mixed with about as much water, and a lit- 
tle bread. They took their scanty ration, and lay 
down upon the floor. They reached this hospitable 
hut just before night. They slept until about twelve- 
o'clock, and then awoke with such a voracious appe- 
tite that they could almost bite the flesh out of each 
other, or devour their own fingers. They called to 
their benefactress, who arose and gave them the same 
allowance as before. They then lay down and slept 
until morning. They remained here three or four 
days, and became so recruited that they proceeded 
with good heart upon their journey. 

They came to the lake, and three days after reached 
Hubbertston, Yermont ; the next day they reached a 
fort at Castleton ; then they came to Poultney, where 
Mr. Ransom found a home for the time being with an 
uncle. Some three weeks after their arrival at Poult- 
ney, who should make his appearance but the poor fel- 
low they had left to die by the spring! Rest under 
his booth, the frogs, broiled by the fire, seasoned with 
a little salt his companions had left him, and the pure 
cold water, sustained nature until she had rallied ; the 
fever left him, and he set off upon the track of his com- 
rades, and came through in safety. 

Colonel Ransom says, "My companions went on to 
Albany, and there proclaimed the cruelty of the Scotch 
officer: it was published in the papers. A flag was 



326 WYOMING. 

dispatched to remonstrate against such abuse of our 
men ; and we had the pleasure to hear, not long after, 
that M'Alpin was tried and broke, the prisoners be- 
ing called to witness against him." 

Some of the Wyoming prisoners had the pleasure of 
seeing M'Alpin drummed out of the camp. About 
this time a prisoner brought in a report that Cornwal- 
lis was taken at Yorktown, and the American prison- 
ers, after due consultation, concluded to give vent to 
their feelings upon the occasion. Accordingly, on a 
signal being given, at dead of night, the very ground 
was made to tremble with three cheers for General 
Washington. The officers sprang from their beds, and 
the sentinels almost jumped out of their boots ; but, 
upon examination, all was order and quiet among the 
prisoners. The iron rule had ended. The time had 
now come to begin to arrange for the exchange of pris- 
oners, instead of tying Yankees neck and heels, and 
hanging them up. Henceforth law and decency ob- 
tained on "Prisoner's Island." 

After becoming sufficiently recruited, Mr. Eansom 
visited his friends in Canaan, Connecticut, and then, 
after a short stay in Wyoming, returned to the army 
at West Point, where he remained until the conclusion 
of the war, when he was honorably discharged. 

Mr. Ransom married and settled upon lands which 
his father had occupied before the war in Plymouth. 
Like nearly every body else in Wyoming, the young 
couple had hard work to live until they could raise 
what was necessary for their comfort from the rich 
flats which they commenced tilling. The greatest dif- 
ficulty was to obtain materials for clothing. Mr. Ean- 
som sowed flaxseed in the spring, but it would not 
grow in a day. Before his flax had come to maturity 



GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 327 

lie found on the flats a luxuriant growth of nettles ; 
these he mowed, and rotted by sinking them in a pond 
of warm water, and then drying them in the sun, and 
of the fibres Mrs. Kansom made coarse cloth for pants 
for her husband. They were neither elegant nor dur- 
able, but they held out until the flax came to maturity. 
Such was now the pressure of Mr. Eansom's necessities 
that the flax was pulled, rotted, dressed, spun, woven, 
and a shirt and pants made in eight days ! The ninth 
day after the flax was pulled the enterprising young 
farmer was dressed in the fabric which was manufac- 
tured out of it. The thing seems scarcely possible, but 
such, we are assured, was the fact. 

Mr. Kansom graduated in regular course to the of- 
fice of colonel of the regiment, and spent a long life on 
the place upon which he first commenced housekeep- 
ing. He lived much respected, and departed this life 
in September, 1850, in the ninetieth year of his age. 

Colonel Eansom was a man of high spirits, and was 
an uncompromising patriot. "We are indebted to his 
son Samuel for the following anecdote, illustrative of 
the permanence and strength of his feelings as a Kev- 
olutionary soldier. While in one of the old taverns in 
Wilkesbarre, when quite advanced in years, he heard 
a windy young man speak very disrespectfully of 
General Washington. The general, he said, was not a 
great man nor a great soldier, but had taken advantage 
of fortunate circumstances to palm himself off upon 
the world as such. This was more than the old sol- 
dier could well bear, and he lifted his cane and felled 
the impudent young sprig to the floor. The whipped 
puppy prosecuted the colonel for assault and battery. 
When the case came on, Colonel Eansom appeared in 
court without an advocate, and simply pleaded guilty, 



328 WYOMING. 

and flung himself on the mercy of the court. Hon. 
David Scott was presiding judge ; his associates were 
the venerable Matthias Hollenback and Jesse Fell. 
Judge Scott remarked, This is a case which I choose to 
leave to my associates, as they are old soldiers, and can 
fully appreciate the circumstances of the case, and 
then left his seat. Judge Hollenback asked Colonel 
Eansom where he was at such a date. The answer 
was, "In my father's company, in Washington's army." 
"And where on the 3d of July, 1778?" Answer, 
" With Captain Spaulding, on my way to Wyoming." 
' ' And where the following summer ? ' ' Answer, ' ' With 
General Sullivan in the Lake country, flogging the 
Indians." "And where the next fall and winter?" 
Answer, "A prisoner on the St. Lawrence." "Ah!" 
said the judge, " all that is true enough, Colonel Ran- 
som. And did you knock the fellow down, colonel ?" 
"I did so, and would do it again under like provo- 
cation," was the answer. "What was the provoca- 
tion ?" asked the judge. " The rascal abused the name 
of General Washington," was the answer. The judge 
coolly said, "Colonel Ransom, the judgment of the 
court is that you pay a fine of one cent, and the pros- 
ecutor pay the cost." A roar of applause succeeded, 
during which the prosecutor fled from the court-house 
in great consternation, and immediately left the place 
for parts unknown. 

During this singular trial the colonel stood in the 
calm dignity of a soldier of the old school, with his 
son standing by his side, indulging no little anxiety 
with regard to the event. When the affair had term- 
inated, the boy walked out of the court-house with 
Lis father, proud of his courage and of his noble bear- 
ing before the court, and abundantly flattered with the 



GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 329 

public demonstrations of approbation of an act which, 
whatever might have been the result of it under other 
circumstances, he considered both lawful and expe- 
dient. 

We give this anecdote as we received it, for the pur- 
pose of illustrating the spirit of the parties concerned, 
judging comments entirely unnecessary. 



330 WYOMING. 



XIIL 

BENJAMIN BIDLACK — CAPTURE BY THE PENNAMITES 
AND SINGULAR ESCAPE. 

"Therewith, in all this world, no nightingale 
Ne coude by an hundred thousand dell 
Singen so wonder merrily and well." 

"Full faire was Mirthe, full long and high, 
A fairer man I never sigh ; 
As round as apple was his face, 
Full roddie and white in every place." 

WlCLIF. 

Mr. Bidlack came to Wyoming at an early period 
with his father, mother, and several brothers. He 
served his country under Greneral Washington through 
nearly the entire period of the Kevolutionary war. He 
was at Boston when Washington took charge of the 
patriot army to oppose Greneral Grage. He was at 
Trenton on the taking of the Hessians. He was at 
Yorktown on the occasion of the surrender of Corn- 
wallis ; and was in Washington's camp, at Newburg, 
when the army was disbanded. 

One of Mr. Bidlack's brothers was captain of a com- 
pany of volunteers in the Indian battle, and fell at the 
head of his men. The year after, his father was taken 
prisoner by the Indians from Plymouth. After his 
father's imprisonment, his mother earnestly requested 
that her son Benjamin might be permitted to return 
home on furlough, to assist her in her lonely and help- 
less condition; but such were the necessities of the 
country that it was thought the example would be 
dangerous, and her prayer was not granted. 



BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 331 

When peace was concluded, Captain Bidlack was 
released from his captivity ; and when the army was 
discharged, his son Benjamin returned home; and 
now those who remained of the family were once more 
together. They were a family of patriots — were all 
tall, large-boned, powerful men, and good soldiers. 
Mr. Bidlack passed through the perils of the war with- 
out seeming to realize his exposure to death, until, 
about the time of its close, he came near being killed 
by the accidental explosion of a bomb-shell, which ig- 
nited on being flung from a wagon. The fragments 
flew, apparently, within a hair's-breadth of him on ev- 
ery side, and yet he escaped without harm. The event 
led to much serious reflection, which he never forgot. 

He assisted in building "the Temple of Liberty," 
and in constructing a causeway across the marsh which 
lay between the two lines of the encampment at New- 
burg. The "temple" lingered in his memory as a great 
institution ; he almost seemed to regard it with super- 
stitious veneration. There they had religious worship, 
and the ■ [ splendid singing," in which he took a prom- 
inent part, was with him the beau ideal of harmony. 
"I never," said he to us, "heard such singing in my 
life. Some of the officers from New England were 
trained singers, and many of the men could sing well, 
and they made the temple ring with sweet and power- 
ful melody." 

"For the arinouy 
And sweet accord was so good musike, 
That the voice to angels most was like." 

Chaucer. 

"She said, In air the trembling music floats, 
And on the winds triumphant swell the notes ; 
So soft, though high-— so loud, and yet so clear, 
Ev'n listening angels lean from heaven to hear." — Pope. 



332 WYOMING. 

He here witnessed the debates of the officers upon 
the subject of disbanding the army. They spoke in 
their uniform, with their swords by their sides. On 
one occasion, one of them, laying his hand upon the 
hilt of his sword, demanded, with great vehemence, 
" Gentlemen, are you prepared to give up these swords, 
which have procured freedom for the country, and for 
yourselves glory and renown ? Can you retire to your 
farms or shops, and ingloriously abandon the profes- 
sion of arms? Will you not rather spill your hearts' 
blood in defense of rights which have been so dearly 
bought in the camp and upon the field of battle ?" 

Here " the Armstrong Letters" originated, and here 
the feelings of General Washington were sorely tried. 
We once took a stroll over the ground of the old en- 
campment, saw the rude masonry and portions of the 
foundations of the huts, and some vestiges of " the 
Temple of Liberty," and here the whole story, so elo- 
quently told by " Father Bidlack," as he was then call- 
ed, before his intellect had begun to fail, was revived 
in our recollection. We imagined we saw him before 
us, describing the scenes which took place during that 
interesting and critical period of our national history, 
shaking his venerable head, and remarking, with deep 
gravity and with great earnestness, " Ah ! that was a 
trying time ; but the wisdom, firmness, and patriotism 
of General Washington were equal to the emergency. 
He might have kept the army together and have been 
king of the country, but he preferred to be the farmer 
of Mount Yernon under a republican government." 

Some time before the conclusion of the last Penn- 
amite and Yankee war, young Bidlack undertook some 
sort of a commercial expedition down the river in a 
boat. At Sunbury he was made a prisoner by the 







*, 



BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 335 

Pennsylvanians, and confined in a place which they 
called a jail. He was a splendid singer and a mercy 
fellow. Like many of the old soldiers, he was " ad- 
dicted to strong drink," and on evenings, when jolly 
circles love to assemble to while away an hour, to shake 
off the burdens of business, or to stimulate their ex- 
hausted nerves by the exhilarating draught, a company 
were accustomed to gather upon the stoop and hear 
Bidlack sing songs, of course affording him a suffi- 
ciency of the desired stimulant. The numbers of those 
evening gatherings increased from evening to even- 
ing, and the songs, the romantic stories, and the jokes 
of the soldier became increasingly interesting, until he 
had become an object of more absorbing interest in 
the little town of Sunbury than a company of min- 
strels is now in one of our large cities. 

The company were finally not quite satisfied with 
seeing the face of their interesting prisoner through 
the grates of the prison, but wished to view him at full 
length as he poured out his harmonious and powerful 
numbers. The door was accordingly opened, and he 
stood upon the threshold ; but here he was too much 
cramped, and his gestures were evidently impeded by 
his position. "What's the use?" said one; "let him 
have room." And he was then allowed to come out 
and give himself free scope in gesticulation. He was a 
tall, straight, majestic figure. The more room he had, 
the more fully did his sallies, cuts, and thrusts illus- 
trate and enforce the sentiment — either sense or non- 
sense — of the poetry, and the higher was the excite- 
ment and the louder the bursts of laughter among the 
merry companions of the gathering. 

Evening after evening passed away in these exer- 
cises without the least abatement of the interest, when. 



336 WYOMING. 

at a late hour, the gallant hero of the farce would 
throw himself upon his pallet of straw, and sleep away 
the excitement of the maddening bowl. As Bidlack 
seemed to enjoy the company of his new associates, 
they began to regard him as a sort of fixture of the 
place, and to suppose that perhaps to be lionized would 
be thought a fair compensation for the loss of his lib- 
erty; but they did not know the man. He was al- 
ways ready to make the best shift possible when un- 
der pressure. He would be merry in prison if in 
prison he must be, but it was not a place to his taste 
at all. Liberty had cost him too much to be bartered 
away for a mess of pottage. 

Understanding perfectly his position, and noticing 
that the sympathies of his nightly visitors and the 
confidence he had inspired in their minds had com- 
pletely put them off their guard, he began to meditate 
turning the advantages of these circumstances to his 
account. He studied the matter thoroughly, and ar- 
ranged his plans. 

" Now, since I have performed every part 

Of thy command as near as tongue can tell, 
Content thee yet, before my sense depart, 
To take this sonnet for my last farewell." 

Gascotne. 

He finally came out with a new song, entitled "The 
old Swaggering Man." " That's the song for me," 
said one. " The best one yet," said another. " Let's 
have that over again," roared a third. "Well," said 
the performer, " let me rest a little, and take a good 
drink." " Yes, yes," all responded. After a few min- 
utes' intermission, and the " drink," of course, " Now," 
says the actor, " if you want a rouser, I must have a 
cane, and room to act it out. I want the whole length 



BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 339 

of the stoop." "Bring on the cane! clear the way! 
clear the way !" bawled a dozen. He sung one stanza, 
and then came on the chorus, "Here goes the old 
swaggering man." He brandished his cane, and stag- 
gered, and plunged from end to end of the stoop. A 
roar of merriment and shouts of applause resounded 
through the whole neighborhood. He now faced about, 
breathed hard, took another drink, and this time his 
movement was in the direction of Wyoming. He sang 
another verse, and then he roared out the chorus, 
"Here goes the old swaggering man," and in a trice 
sprang from the stoop, leaped the six-foot rail-fence 
which surrounded the premises, and was out of sight. 

Some were petrified with astonishment, others cursed 
and swore, while others laughed immoderately. " Aft- 
er him! after him!" cried the jailer. Haifa dozen 
ran a few rods in the dark, and then, pausing to listen, 
heard his heavy, hurried tread dying away in the dis- 
tance. " There's no use," said they ; "he can outrun 
a deer." They returned to have a hearty laugh over 
the romantic adventure of the jolly Yankee prisoner. 
They separated, more regretting the loss of the amuse- 
ment which Bidlack had afforded them while detained 
as a prisoner, than the success of the ruse he had prac- 
ticed upon them. 

As may well be supposed, the fugitive made great 
progress during the night. He had fifty miles to 
travel, and the dawn of day found him on the home- 
ward half of his journey. He often laughed to him- 
self at the mere fun and romance of his escape so loud 
as to scare the night-birds of the mountains and glens. 
He repeated over with great glee the talismanic cho- 
rus, "Here goes the old swaggering man," and then 
he would skip and bound like the buck which had 



840 WYOMING. 

swum the river, reached the shore, and left the hounds 
on the other side. As he hies along "the bank of the 
river, over the flats and through the narrows, we may 
imagine him singing Hudibras, slightly altered, to suit 
the occasion. 

He that sings and runs away, 
May live to sing another day ; 
But he that doth in jail remain, 
May never sing at home again. 

Chorus. Here goes the old swaggering man. 

The next day our hero safely arrived at his father's 
house in Plymouth. It was soon noised abroad that 
" Ben Bidlack had sung himself out of jail, and was at 
home safe and sound." 

Young Bidlack married an Alden, a descendant of 
a family by that name which came to this country in 
the May-Flower. He struggled hard with poverty, 
and still harder with his army habits, but made no 
progress, and there seemed no human probability of 
his improving either his character or his fortune. At 
length he became awakened through the instrumentali- 
ty of the pioneers of Methodism, and finally became a 
Methodist preacher. He sustained this character to 
the termination of a protracted life. He had great 
power in the pulpit, and was as great a singer of the 
songs of Zion as he had been of the old patriotic bal- 
lads. He was for many years a most laborious and 
successful minister of the Gospel. He lost his wife 
while engaged in the active duties of the ministry, 
and was united in marriage to the widow of Lawrence 
Myers, Esq., of Kingston. He lived for many years in 
that place, a superannuated minister, much respected 
and beloved by all his neighbors. He finally died from 
a cancer on his nose. 



BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 341 

. In the year 1825, we think, the citizens of Wilkes- 
barre called upon the venerable man for a Fourth of 
July oration. The surviving soldiers of the Revolu- 
tion were invited in from all the region round about, 
and they constituted quite a respectable company. Each 
had a sprig of laurel attached to the left breast of his 
coat. The orator was then as straight as an arrow, 
and marched to the music like any trained soldier, 
keeping the step while the band poured out the old 
national air, Yankee Doodle, in the very best style. 
The oration consisted principally of a narrative of the 
events of the Revolutionary war as they came under 
his own observation. His text or motto was, "For 
consider how great things the Lord hath done for 
you." His doctrine was that the hand of God was 
evidently concerned in the events of the Revolution. 

He kept General Washington constantly before the 
audience. "When the Hessians were captured," said 
he, " the general rode round among the men, who were 
falling upon the spoils, and said, ' My brave fellows, 
don't drink and become intoxicated. God has given 
us the victory, but the enemy, in large force, is just at 
hand, and, should they find any of you lying upon the 
ground, which they will be sure to visit in a few hours, 
you will lose your lives.' He rode from company to 
company, repeating the same caution with the greatest 
earnestness." 

His description of the cannonading of the British 
works at Yorktown was most thrilling. "For four- 
teen days and nights," said the orator, " there was one 
continual thunder and blaze. At night it was so light 
that you could see to pick up a pin. A white flag was 
raised from the British breastworks, and the firing 
ceased. It seemed as though the wheels of nature 



342 



WYOMING. 



stood still; the silence was really distressing. Corn- 
wallis proposed to leave the ground with the honors 
of war, with colors flying, and to embark his army on 
the English ships in the nearest harbor. ' No,' was 
the answer, and the parley closed. ' Now,' said Wash- 
ington, ' give it to them hotter than ever.' And, sure 
enough, the storm of the battle raged more terribly 
than ever. They soon came to terms, and the heart 
of the war was broken." 




BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 343 

The illustration is a truthful representation of the 
Kev. Benjamin Bidlack in his preaching attitude in a 
private house, behind an old-fashioned chair. The 
sketch was executed by the Kev. Marmaduke Pearce, 
it is supposed, after hearing the old patriarch preach a 
funeral sermon in his own neighborhood. 



/ 



344 WYOMING. 



XIV. 

a view from Campbell's ledge, contributed by 
rev. l. w. peck. 

At the head of "Wyoming Yalley is Campbell's 
Ledge. The Susquehanna comes in from the north- 
west, and the Lackawanna winds around the base of 
the mountain from the northeast to mingle with the 
larger and bolder river. The mountain whose base 
they thus lave, and separate from the valley, is crowned 
by Campbell's Ledge. Having a few hours at Pitts- 
ton, I cast my eye wishfully over at the mountain, a 
distance of about two miles, and resolved to make the 
ascent. I was alone. My way led over the canal bridge, 
over the viaduct, and across the meadows to the mount- 
ain. I had just entered the wood and begun the as- 
cent when a beautiful pheasant started out near my 
feet, and ran some distance through the leaves, and then 
flew into the deep forest. I pursued my way, follow- 
ing an old mountain road, or making a path for my- 
self through the underbrush. At length I came out 
upon a plateau of ground gently sloping to the north ; 
but the thick foliage would permit no view of the val- 
ley, which I was looking for as one looks for the genial 
face of an old friend. Still I wandered on, seeking the 
higher ground, but no ledge was visible. A pile of 
rocks, crowned with a scraggy oak, now and then ap- 
peared, but nothing was to be seen that answered the 
description I had received. I began to reproach my- 
self for coming without a guide, and wondered whether 
I should know Campbell's Ledge if I should happen 



a view from Campbell's ledge, 347 

to come in sight of it. The woods at last became, 
more open, and I saw the mountains at the west nearer. 
I turned at once toward them, when I found myself 
just ready to step off from the abrupt brow of a fright- 
ful precipice. I seized hold of a tree and hung upon 
the verge, and gazed down with awe upon the calm 
river, the green fields, and the grazing flocks hundreds 
of feet below. This, said I, in a subdued breath, is 
Campbell's Ledge. 

I sank back upon the grass, and looked down upon 
Wyoming cradled between the mountains. The view 
of the Yalley here presented differs from every other. 
The hilly portions are more prominent, and undulate 
far away southward till they terminate in the mount- 
ains. The river, like a broken belt of steel, is seen 
here and there glittering in the sun. I have often 
wandered in Wyoming, admiring her beauty, but 
Campbell's Ledge inspired me with a new emotion, 
that of overpowering sublimity. This view reminds 
me of the Hudson and the Catskills, but the precipice 
is more stupendous than that on which stands the 
Mountain House. Ye grand old mountains, which 
laugh in the sunshine and reverberate in the storm, 
" ye are wondrous strong, yet lovely in your strength." 
I have been carrying in my mind, amid these scenes, 
the stirring words of Kuskin : 

II Mountains are to the rest of the earth what mus- 
cular action is to the body of man. The muscles and 
tendons of its anatomy are, in the mountains, brought 
out with force and convulsive energy, full of expres- 
sion, passion, and strength ; the plains and lower hills 
are the repose and the effortless motion of the frame, 
when its muscles lie dormant and concealed beneath 
the lines of its beauty, yet ruling those lines in their 



348 WYOMING. 

every undulation. This, then, is the first grand prin- 
ciple of the truth of the earth. The spirit of the hills 
is action, that of the lowlands repose; and between 
these there is to be found every variety of motion and 
of rest, from the inactive plain, sleeping like the firma- 
ment, with cities for stars, to the fiery peaks, which, 
with heaving bosoms and exulting limbs, with the 
clouds drifting like hair from their bright foreheads, 
lift up their Titan hands to heaven, saying, ' I live for- 
ever.' " 

There is a wild legend which has given the name 
to this ledge. A man named Campbell was pursued 
by the Indians. He had taken refuge in the ravines 
of this mountain, where are many fine living springs, 
and where the thick foliage afforded a safe shelter. 
But the fierce Eed Men are on his track. He is an old 
enemy, and is singled out for special torture. He 
knows his fate if taken. He tries every path that 
winds out into the deeper forest, but without success. 
He is hemmed in like the roe by the relentless wolves. 
But he does not hesitate; he springs forward to the 
verge of the hanging rock. One glance behind him 
shows him that escape is utterly hopeless. The shouts 
of the savages are heard as they rush upon their prey. 
With a scream of defiance, he leaps into the friendly 
arms of death. 

The solemn traditions of the olden time were steal- 
ing around me like an enchanter's spell as I gazed 
down upon the plain and the river where once my 
kindred struggled with the dusky foe. A loud yell, 
as if a thousand Indian warriors were in the wood, 
started me to my feet ; it was the whistle of the loco- 
motive, which told of civilization bursting through the 
ancient gloom. 




THE FALLING SfBING. 



RICHARD GARDNER. 351 



XV. 

AN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD GARDNER. 

" So must thou live till, like ripe fruit, thou drop 
Into thy mother's lap, or be with ease 
Gather' d, not harshly pluck'd, for death mature : 
This is old age." Milton. 

We had been told that "old Mr. Gardner, of Ex- 
eter," was " almost a hundred years old," and that he 
could give a great amount of information in relation 
to Kevolutionary times ; that he had been a prisoner 
among the Indians for a long time, and had suffered 
untold miseries in cruel captivity. We resolved upon 
an early visit to the residence of the centenarian. On 
a beautiful morning early in June, 1857, we took the 
cars for Pittston, where we procured a horse and bug- 
gy, and proceeded through the long narrows on the 
east side of the Susquehanna. Passing the bold front 
of Campbell's Ledge, we wound our way along on the 
North Branch Canal, which is protected on the river- 
side by a sea-wall. A short distance above Campbell's 
Ledge a beautiful cascade comes rushing from the 
height, called Falling Spring. Upon the top of the 
mountain is a small spruce swamp, formed by never-fail- 
ing springs. From this swamp issues the rill which falls 
over the precipice, and presents the beautiful object 
copied in the accompanying picture. On the road-side 
a perpendicular wall is built to the level of the road, 
but there is no barrier whatever to prevent the traveler 
from being precipitated into the canal in case a horse 
should be frightened and become unmanageable. 



352 WYOMING. 

The road is narrow, in 'general not affording room 
for two carriages to pass. The almost perpendicular 
ledge of rocks has been blasted out to make room for 
the canal and the road. The rocky steep above frowns 
down npon the passenger in awful majesty. Now you 
find the broken fragments of trees which have been 
precipitated from the lofty height above, and then vast 
masses of rock which have been rent from their an- 
cient beds by the frost, tumbled down the steep, and 
have filled up the narrow pass, a portion of them hav- 
ing been removed, leaving space barely sufficient for 
the passage of a carriage. Often the awful visage of 
the mountain height seems to assume an air of pen- 
siveness, and weeps streams and gushing rivulets, as 
though in grief for the wounds and fractures inflicted 
upon her slopes and precipices, and her separation from 
immediate communion with her ancient friend and 
companion, the great and noble Susquehanna. Such 
havoc do modern improvements make of the sublime 
beauties of nature that the very rocks and hills are 
convulsed with agony. 

We have often passed these terrible narrows, but 
never without a sort of terror. We can never help 
asking ourselves, What if some of the huge masses of 
rock, which seem just ready to topple from their foun- 
dation, should take a leap just as we are passing? In 
a moment we should be ground to powder. A mere 
pebble falling down the precipice might at any time 
frighten the horse of the traveler, and occasion an un- 
lucky leap into the canal. Either of these events are 
possible, and more or less probable, at any moment ; 
the providence of God, however, preserved us, and we 
made the trip in safety. 

In due time we reached " Gardner's Ferry," six miles 



RICHARD GARDNER. 353 

above the mouth of the Lackawanna. Coming up to 
an ancient dwelling — one with which we were famil- 
iar near forty years ago — upon the stoop we saw a 
venerable man, much bent down, leaning upon a cane. 
We asked him if his name was Gardner. " Yes ; but 
you have the advantage of me : I don't know you," 
was the response. After being informed of the object 
of our visit, he commenced conversation standing. His 
position seemed so uneasy that we were pained, and 
we suggested that perhaps he had better be seated. 
We were then invited into the house, and shown to a 
chair. Several respectable-looking females were pres- 
ent, who looked inquisitively as we, without farther 
ceremony, entered into conversation. 

Mr. Gardner had never been a prisoner among the 
Indians. His father was made a prisoner when the 
Hardings were killed, as he was in the field at work 
with them at the time, on the west side of the river. 
He never returned, but, as they learned, was cruelly 
tortured by the savages, being burned alive. 

Mrs. Alexander, from whom we received much in- 
formation in relation to Colonel Hollenback, has fur- 
nished us with the following painful tale of the last in- 
terview between Mr. Gardner and his afflicted compan- 
ion. She says: 

" I will relate a fact which was told to my mother 
and myself by Mrs. Jenkins, the wife of Lieutenant 
Jenkins. She, with a Mrs. Gardner, was at Fort Jen- 
kins after its capitulation. The husband of Mrs. Gard- 
ner was a prisoner in the hands of the Tories and In- 
dians, and she wished much to see him once more, and 
asked Mrs. Jenkins to accompany her. Having con- 
sented and obtained leave, they went, under escort of 
young Wintermoot, who was a Tory, and offered to go 



354 WYOMING. 

with them upon the condition that they would mani- 
fest no surprise or sorrow at the sight they might see, 
telling them, at the time, that they would behold many 
strange and heart-rending ones. 

" They therefore schooled themselves to appear in- 
different, and entered the camp as coolly as possible. 
Mrs. Gardner obtained an interview with her husband, 
who told her that he was well aware they would never 
meet again. He was lame, and knowing that if unable 
to keep pace with his captors when on the march they 
would kill him, he advised her to take their two little 
boys and go to Connecticut, and remain with her 
friends until, the troubles being over in "Wyoming, it 
would be safe to return and live upon the farm he had 
purchased her, bidding her a lasting farewell. During 
all the time she had such possession of herself as to 
exhibit no outward sign of sorrow. Mrs. Jenkins also 
told us that the Indians were at that time busily en- 
gaged in burning their victims. They had thrown 
down an old dry pine fence, and piled upon it the 
dead, wounded, and some unhurt white men, added 
more combustible matter, and set it on fire ; and that 
the whole line of the fence was filled with the charred 
bones and flesh of the poor creatures, and men still 
burning : an awful sight, and I do not doubt her state- 
ment of the facts." 

Mr. Miner gives the following account of Mr. Gard- 
ner's captivity and death: "One taken at Exeter the 
first of July, when the Hardings and Hadsels were 
massacred, deserves our special notice. Mr. John Gard- 
ner was a husband and a father, a highly respectable 
man, against whom some unappeasable spirit of enmity 
is supposed to have existed. On the morning of the 
fourth, his wife and child were permitted to see and 



RICHARD GARDNER. 355 

take leave of him. Elisha Harding, Esq., then a boy, 
was present, and represents the scene as extremely af- 
fecting. When the last adieu was exchanged, an In- 
dian placed a grievous load on his shoulders which he 
could scarcely raise, then put a halter round his neck, 
and led him off as he would a beast. The farewell ex- 
pressed the sentiment, 4 1 go to return no more.' Ex- 
hausted with fatigue before he arrived at his captor's 
home, he fell, crushed by the weight of his load, when 
he was handed over to the squaws, who tortured him 
to death by fire. Daniel Carr, a fellow-prisoner, saw 
the remains the following day, and represented it as a 
sight to awaken the deepest pity." 

At the time of the Indian battle Mr. Gardner was 
eleven years of age, and was with his mother in a fort 
on the west side of the river, immediately opposite the 
place where Pittston now stands; he knew not by 
what name the fort was called. The fort consisted of 
a house built of hewed logs, and surrounded by a 
stockade : it was Fort Jenkins. 

They heard the firing plainly on the day of the bat- 
tle, and on the day following learned that " our army 
was cut off." On that day Butler sent in a flag, and 
demanded the surrender of the fort* There was no- 
body there to defend the fort but women and children, 
and a few old men. The gate was opened, and the In- 
dians and Tories came in. They ordered all the things 
taken out of the house and spread upon the ground. 
They then set fire to the house, and, after taking what 
they wanted of the goods which lay upon the ground, 
they went away, and no more was seen of them. 

* The articles of capitulation are signed July 1, 1778, but it prob- 
ably was not thought necessary to enter it. as it was a small, helpless 
concern. 



356 WYOMING. 

" Several of the Tories who were with the Indians," 
said Mr. Gardner, "had often been at my father's 
house, and been kindly treated there. One by the 
name of Vanderlip, and another by the name of Show- 
ers, I distinctly recollect. I saw upon the Indians 
clothes taken from the bodies of our men covered with 
blood." This is the amount of Mr. Gardner's personal 
knowledge of the wars of "Wyoming. The first Penn- 
amite and Yankee war had subsided when his father 
came into the country, and the last was concluded be- 
fore he returned finally to remain. 

The old men, with the women and children who 
were in the fort, left the country and returned to Con- 
necticut. Mr. Gardner's mother had a young child, 
which she nursed and carried in her arms. The feeble 
and defenseless little company traveled through the 
swamp on foot. There was no road but a mere foot- 
path, and no bridges across the streams. They suffer- 
ed indescribably from hunger and weakness, but, by 
the most indomitable perseverance, they finally reach- 
ed the settled country, where they received aid and 
comfort from the people. 

What fearful times were these ! The strength of 
the settlement was gone. The husbands, sons, and 
brothers, who were expected to clear the farms and 
raise the bread, had perished upon the field of battle, 
or been led away into hopeless bondage. A few old 
men leaning upon their staves, mothers with infants 
at their breasts, and boys and girls of tender age, were 
left in a country overrun by murderous savages, with- 
out food, and often stripped of their clothing, until not 
enough was left to screen their bodies from the ex- 
tremities of the weather, and in this condition obliged 
to undertake a long journey through the wilderness 



RICHARD GARDNER. 357 

on foot. The fathers and mothers had lost the sup- 
port of their age, and the wives and the children their 
natural protectors and their only earthly source of de- 
pendence. One old gentleman lost three sons in the 
battle, and thus, in an hour, was left with three widows 
and twelve helpless, fatherless children upon his hands 
to provide for ! What were the sufferings of the be- 
reaved fathers, mothers, wives, and children on that 
memorable occasion, it is impossible to tell or even to 
conceive. Look for a moment at the mother of Mr. 
Gardner — made a widow under the most heart-rending 
circumstances, with a child hanging to her breast, and 
a little boy scarcely able to take care of himself, on so 
long and laborious a journey. Why did she not faint, 
or give herself up to inconsolable grief or to utter de- 
spair ? Ah ! the women of those times were made of 
stern stuff. How nobly they bore themselves when 
the storm beat furiously upon them, when the iron 
entered into their souls. There was a religious ele- 
ment in their character, which came to their relief in 
that terrible day of need. When they could truly 
say, "All thy waves and thy billows are gone over 
me," they could also add, "Yet the Lord will com- 
mand his loving kindness in the daytime, and in the 
night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto 
the God of my life." 

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Gardner married and 
returned to Wyoming. He settled upon land which 
his father had occupied, and there he has lived from 
that day to the present. He established a ferry, and 
often was subjected to great labor, and exposed to great* 
danger on the river. He is now a most remarkable 
man. He was ninety years of age the eighth day of last 
Februar}'-. He has suffered from several casualties, 



358 WYOMING. 

but still his constitution remains unbroken, and his in- 
tellect is sound. 

Soon after he settled in the country he received an 
injury in one of his elbows, which has ever since been 
to him a source of trouble, although it did not make 
him a cripple. In a bear-hunt, one of his companions, 
not perceiving that Mr. Gardner was nearly in range 
between him and a ferocious old dam with two cubs, 
drew up his piece and fired just as his friend was in 
the same act. Unfortunately, the ball struck his el- 
bow. " I've hit her," exclaimed the delighted hunter. 
" You've hit me," answered Mr. Gardner. The blood 
streamed from the arm of the wounded man, while the 
bear escaped unhurt. They were in the woods some 
miles east of the settlement. One of Mr. Gardner's 
companions accompanied him home, while the other 
took a straight course through the woods to Lacka- 
wanna to procure the services of Dr. Hooker Smith. 
It was two days after the wound was inflicted before. 
Dr. Smith could be on hand. When he came the arm 
was much inflamed and swollen, and the probing, cut- 
ting, and picking out splinters of bone was a most ter- 
rible operation, but it had to be endured. The wound 
was some time in healing, and the injury of the joint 
was such that the consequences were permanently 
troublesome. 

Two years since, Mr. Gardner received an injury to 
his spine by a fall in the barn. This much increased 
his stooping position, and considerably diminished his 
power of locomotion. He assured us that, before he 
'received the last-mentioned injury, he could walk to 
Wilkesbarre, the distance of fourteen miles, and back 
again the same day ; indeed, he affirmed he could do 
so now if his back had not been injured. Summer 



RICHARD GARDNER. 359 

before last, he said, he laid up thirty rods of stone 
fence, and he should do a good business in that line 
this season, if his son could find time to draw the stone. 
On the day before our visit he had crossed the river, 
walked three miles, helped his son-in-law plant his po- 
tatoes, and returned before sundown. If he stood 
erect, he would appear to be about seventy years of 
age — perhaps not so old. He is one of that small class 
of human beings who seem to defy the laws of natu- 
ral decay. 

Mr. Gardner had been twice married, and been 
blessed with thirteen children, two of whom died in 
childhood, while the remaining eleven lived to mature 
years. Two of the number have been cripples from 
early youth. A son had his lower limbs paralyzed 
when a child, and they have ever since been almost 
incapable of locomotion. He hitches about on his 
hands and hips, but is cheerful, and converses sensibly 
and with animation. He is sixty-one years of age. 
A daughter walks upon crutches in consequence of 
having lost the use of one of her limbs by a fever-sore. 

Before we left dinner was announced, and we were 
invited to "sit by" and share in the repast, which we 
did with a relish. The table was well supplied, and 
the cookery done up in comfortable country style. 
When all were seated, the old gentleman craved a 
blessing, somewhat in the ancient Puritanic style as to 
length and particularity. We found he had long been 
a member of the Baptist Church, and should judge him 
a truly religious man. We asked him how he enjoyed 
life ; his answer was, " Oh, very well. I have always 
enjoyed very good health — have never been sick 
much, and have no reason to complain." 

Mr. Gardner said that when he first came into the 



360 WYOMING. 

country, and for a long time afterward, game was 
abundant every where in the woods, and the waters 
furnished plenty of the finest fish. In the spring the 
shad were abundant in the river, and in the little 
stream not far from his house, called Gardner's Creek, 
a mess of the finest trout could be caught at almost 
any time except in winter. 

Many years since, a company of Indians passed down 
the river on their way to Philadelphia, to conclude a 
treaty with the government. There seemed to be two 
parties, one taking the east and the other the west side 
of the river. Several of them lodged in an old, de- 
serted house near by. He visited them, and one of 
them spoke good English. The Indian asked him if 
he ever saw an Indian before. "Yes," said he, "at 
the time of the Wyoming massacre." " Ah ! you live 
there?" responded the Indian. "Yes," was the an- 
swer. From that moment the Indian seemed shy. 
He finally said his tribe, the Oneidas, were not here 
on that occasion, but some of the other company were 
here, and he and his friends would not go in their com- 
pany, for they expected every one of them would be 
killed. " How many Indians do you think were in 
the battle?" asked the Indian. "I do not know; I 
have heard about a thousand," answered Mr. Gardner. 
"Oh no," responded the Indian, "not near so many." 

We take the following account of this visit of the 
Indians to Wyoming from Mr. Miner : " Fifteen years 
after the battle, a number of Indians, among whom 
were several chiefs of distinction, passed through Wy- 
oming on their way to Philadelphia, on business with 
the government. Apprehending danger, they sent 
word to Wilkesbarre, and an escort of respectable cit- 
izens turned out to accompany them into the town. 



RICHARD GARDNER. 361 

In the evening a council was held in the court-room, 
where mutually pacific assurances were given. It is 
not surprising, considering their cruel conduct during 
the war, that the Indians entertained fears for their 
safety. On their return, passing on the opposite side 
of the river from the battle-ground, the old braves 
showed much excitement, talking and gesticulating 
with great emphasis and spirit, as they seemed to be 
pointing out to the younger savages the position and 
incidents of the conflict. I met Eed Jacket at "Wash- 
ington in 1827 or '8, and strove to lead him to talk of 
"Wyoming, but on that subject his lips were hermetic- 
ally sealed." 

From this time, we believe, no Indians visited "Wy- 
oming until the summer of 1852, when a company of 
performers -made their appearance in Wilkesbarre. 
They rode through the town in single file in native cos- 
tume, and whooped, and yelled, and performed many 
curious feats. At night they had a war-dance on the 
bank of the. river, on the ground of the old fort. Few 
of the people who had been raised in the Valley ever 
saw an Indian before, and, of course, they were objects 
of great curiosity. 

Mr. Gardner's conversation is all in a plain, straight- 
forward style, without a particle of enthusiasm, and 
exhibits evidence of an unimpaired intellect. "We left 
him, and returned right well satisfied with our trip 
through the Narrows. We had learned some things, 
and among them was the fact that there were some 
other things not to be learned. 

Q 



362 WYOMING. 



XVI. 

PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE OF RUFUS BENNET ON 
THE FATAL 3D OF JULY. 

" Woe to the vanquish'd ! was stem Runo's word 
When sunk proud Rome beneath the Gallic sword : 
Woe to the vanquish'd ! when his massy blade 
Bore down the scale against her ransom weigh'd ; 
And on the field of foughten battle still, 
War knows no limit save the victor's will." 

The Gailliard. 

" Slaughter grows murther when it goes too far, 
And makes a massacre what was a war." 

Dryden. 

The retreat of the patriot army on the fatal 3d of 
July became a flight and a massacre. Each man shift- 
ed for himself as best he could, and the more swift on 
foot took the lead. The Indians, frantic with the war 
spirit and thirsty for blood, shot down, scalped, and 
tomahawked those they overtook. More than two 
hundred of the New England people fell in that ill- 
judged and disastrous encounter. A portion of these 
were first captured, and then massacred in cold blood. 
Yery few — it is thought only two — of those who were 
captured upon the field of battle escaped torture. Of 
Butler's Loyalists and Indians from fifty to eighty are 
supposed to have fallen, but no reliable report of the 
number has ever been made. It is reported that all 
the " shovels and picks" which could be raised were 
put into requisition the next morning. This certainly 
was not for the purpose of burying our people, for they 
were all left above ground. The facts will probably 



RUFUS BENNET. 363 

never be revealed until the morning of the resurrec- 
tion, when it is probable that " the marsh" will yield 
up some scores of the Red Men who fell upon that 
memorable day.* 

In the flight and chase down the plains, there were 
hair-breaclth and providential escapes as well as dia- 
bolical deeds of cruelty. Among the strange escapes 
we would notice that of Rufus Bennet, a young man 
of seventeen years of age. He was tall and slender, 
but resolute and quick of foot. He was hotly pur- 
sued by two stalwart Indians, one of them close be- 
hind him. Colonel Butler, who was almost the last to 
leave the ground, galloped his horse close by Bennet. 
Quick as lightning he seized the long switch tail of 
the colonel's horse. He now made long strides, and 
hoped to out-distance his pursuers. They, however, 
presuming upon the fact that he would not be able 
long to keep his hold, kept on at the top of their speed, 
although for a few moments they fell in the rear. 

Bennet broke his hold, and his spirit sunk. He and 

* Since writing the above, we have learned from John Bennet, 
Esq., of Kingston, that when his uncle Solomon was in Wyoming 
last — in 1 820 — he went with him upon the battle-ground, and show- 
ed him where he stood when the battle began, and how far they 
pushed John Butler's men. He also pointed out the spot where the 
British and Indians who were killed were buried. It was on what 
was called "the Island," in the marsh, under some large yellow 
pines which were then standing. There sixty were consigned to 
their long resting-place by their fellow-royalists — British, Tories, and 
Indians. The number of the slain and the place of burial were com- 
municated to Mr. Solomon Bennet by the Wintermoots and Secords 
in Canada in 1812. Mr. Bennet was in Canada upon a visit to a 
daughter when the late war broke out, and there was obliged to re- 
main for about two years, and during this period he had frequent 
interviews with his old Tory acquaintances above named, who were 
perfectly frank in their communications. 



364 WYOMING. 

the Indians had severally discharged their guns and 
could not take time to reload, and there was no hope 
for the poor fellow but in a deadly close encounter 
against great odds. The foremost of the two, toma- 
hawk in hand, now rapidly gained upon his supposed 
victim, and, with a yell which echoed from mountain 
to mountain, bounded forward like the bloodthirsty 
wolf in pursuit of the exhausted fawn. A few more 
leaps, and his prey would be secure. 

On the march of the little army up the plains, Rich- 
ard Inman had fallen back from the ranks, and lay 
down in a wheat-field just above Tuttle's Creek. It 
is said that he had "taken a little too much," and re- 
quiring a nap, he flung himself upon the ground and 
fell asleep. By the time the fugitives came rushing 
down from the battle-field Inman had come to him- 
self, and when he heard the heavy tread of Colonel 
Butler's horse he began to rub open his eyes. The 
colonel saw him lift his head and lay his chin in his 
hand, his elbow resting on the ground. Throwing the 
point of his sword back, Colonel Butler roared out, 
"Inman, shoot that Indian!" 

Inman was a dead shot, and the order was no soon- 
er given than it was obeyed. Crack went Inman's 
rifle, and down fell the Indian brave. He fell within 
a few feet of the exhausted fugitive, and his compan- 
ion was not far behind him. 

The next moment, and Bennet would have spent 
the last remnant of vital power, fallen prostrate upon 
the ground, and been scalped and tomahawked. He 
was a young man of nerve ; he neither fell into a 
swoon nor forgot that another foe was upon his track. 
Gathering up his energies, he was now ready, sup- 
ported by his friend, to give battle hand to hand to 
the remaining savage ; he, however, came to a sudden 



RUFUS BENNET. 367 

pause, turned about, and took to his heels. The crack 
of Inman's rifle and the fall of the Indian warrior had 
measurably restored the equilibrium of Bennet's sys- 
tem, and, after a few long breaths, he and his com- 
panion were on their way to the fort, where they ar- 
rived without farther molestation.* 

Kufus Bennet married Martha Bennet, a young 
woman of the same name, but not immediately related 
to him, and settled in Hanover, where he raised a large 
family, and lived to advanced years. His wife out- 
lived him, and after long having been called " Aunt 
Martha," was by every body called "Grandmother." 
She died one mile below Wilkesbarre in the year 
1853. We visited her upon her dying-bed, and, al- 
though in the very jaws of death, she entertained us 
for an hour or more^with accounts of " the battle" 
and the flight " through the swamp." 

The company she was in " went through Capouse 
on to Shehola, and across Jersey." They were in con- 
stant excitement from fear of Indians. At Capouse 
they found one of the settlers — if we recollect right, a 
Mr. St. John — lying dead in the road, who had the 
same day been shot and scalped.f 

* The Inman family were great patriots, and suffered severely from 
the Indians. Three of Richard's brothers fell victims to their bar- 
barous cruelty. Richard lived to old age, and, after the termination 
of the wars, became a religious man. Colonel Edward Inman, his 
brother, was also, to the day of his death, a man of influence and re- 
spectability. Both these veteran pioneers had a high reputation for 
hospitality, and were gratefully remembered by the early itinerant 
ministers. 

t Mr. Miner gives the following account of the Capouse murders. 
"News came down from Lackawanna that Mr. Hickman, his witV 
and child, were murdered at Capouse. The very next day, two men, 
by the name of Leach and St. John, who were removing with their 
families, were shot six miles up the Lackawanna. One of them had 
a child in his arms, which, with strange inconsistency, the Indian 



368 WYOMING. 

It is not wonderful that impressions made npon the 
minds of children by these bloody scenes should be 
durable. Seventy-five years had elapsed, and Mrs. 
Bennet was all but in her death-struggle, and yet she 
seemed to have a passion for thinking and conversing 
of those awful scenes. True enough, " The ruling 
passion strong in death." The day following she 
breathed her last. 

"We offered her the consolations of religion, and com- 
mended her soul to God, but have one thing to regret. 
We made no memorandum of the particular facts 
which she communicated, and which are now beyond 
recovery. Thus are the materials of history constant- 
ly perishing through the mere thoughtlessness of those 
whose duty it is to give them permanence. Our ac- 
quaintance with Eufus and Martha Bennet was long 
and somewhat intimate, and we have general impres- 
sions of the stories which we heard from their lips of 
the troublous days of Wyoming, but the particulars, 
except in a few instances, are indistinctly marked upon 
the tablet of our memory. The same remark we may 
make in relation to a score or more of those who were 
sharers and actors in the same scenes which are pre- 
sented in this volume, who were active members of 
society when we first entered the Valley. Diligence 
in committing to writing what we then heard from the 
early settlers would have furnished us with a maga- 
zine of facts which, at this time, we should prize above 
silver or gold. Most of these opportunities are now 
gone beyond the possibility of recovery. All we can 
now do is to use what has escaped the ruins of a past 
generation. 

took up and handed to the mother, all covered with the father's 
blood. Leaving the women in the wagon unhurt, they took the 
scalps of their husbands and departed." 



NOAH HOPKINS 36^ 



xvn. 

NOAH HOPKINS — HIS LIFE SAVED BY A SPIDER. 

" To turn purveyor to an overgorged 
And bloated spider, till the pampered beast 
Is made familiar, watches his approach, 
Comes at his call, and serves him for a friend." — Task. 

"It is not, I say, merely in a pious manner of expression that 
the Scripture thus ascribeth every event to the providence of God, 
but it is strictly and philosophically true in nature and reason that 
there is no such thing as chance or accident." — Dr. S. Clarke. 

The following singular and providential escape we 
copy from the second edition of Colonel Stone's His- 
tory of Wyoming. 

"Among the individual incidents marking this sin- 
gular tragedy was the following : Some of the fugitives 
were pursued for a time by a portion of the Indians, 
and among them was a settler named Noah Hopkins 
— a wealthy man, from the county of Dutchess, in the 
State of New York, bordering upon Connecticut. He 
had disposed of a handsome landed patrimony in his 
native town, Amenia, and invested the proceeds as a 
shareholder of the Susquehanna Company, and in 
making preparations for removing to the new colony. 
Finding, by the sounds, that the Indians were upon 
his trail, after running a long distance he fortunately 
discovered the trunk of a large hollow tree upon the 
ground, into which he crept. After lying there sever- 
al hours, his apprehensions of danger were greatly 
quickened by the tread of footsteps. They approach- 
ed, and in a few moments two or three savages were 
actually seated upon the log in consultation. He heard 
the bullets rattle loosely in their pouches. They ac- 

Q2 



370 WYOMING. 

tually looked into the hollow trunk, suspecting that he 
might be there ; but the examination must have been 
slight, as they discovered no traces of his presence. 
The object of their search, however, in after-life at- 
tributed his escape to the labors of a busy spider, 
which, after he crawled into the log, had been indus- 
triously engaged in weaving a web over the entrance. 
Perceiving this, the Indians supposed, as a matter of 
course, that the fugitive could not have entered there. 
After remaining in his place of concealment as long as 
nature could endure the confinement, Hopkins crept 
forth, wandering in the wilderness without food until 
he was on the point of famishing. In this situation, 
knowing that he could but die, he cautiously stole 
down into the Yalley again, whence five days before 
he had fled. All was desolation there. The crops 
were destroyed, the cattle gone, and the smouldering 
brands and embers were all that remained of the 
houses. The Indians had retired, and the stillness of 
death prevailed. He roamed about for hours in search 
of something to satisfy the cravings of nature, fording 
or swimming the river twice in his search. At length 
he discerned the carcass of a wild turkey, shot on the 
morning of the massacre, but which had been left in 
the flight. He quickly stripped the bird of his feath- 
ers, although it had become somewhat offensive by 
lying in the sun, dressed it and washed it in the river, 
and the first meal he made therefrom was ever after- 
ward pronounced the sweetest of his life. Upon the 
strength of this turkey, with such roots and herbs as 
he could gather in the way, he traveled until, after 
incredible hardships he was obliged to encounter — his 
clothes being torn from his limbs in the thickets, and 
his body badly lacerated — he once more found him- 
self anions: the dwellings of civilized men." 



THE FRATRICIDE. 371 



XVIII. 
THE FRATRICIDE. 

The story of a Tory shooting his brother on Mono- 
easy Island on the day of the battle, which we have 
told from the historians, we believe has never been 
questioned. Such an astonishing instance of deprav- 
ity would be past belief if it were not well authenti- 
cated ; but, giving it due credit upon the credibility 
of the witnesses, we naturally desire to know some- 
thing of the subsequent history of the perpetrator of 
so unnatural and barbarous a deed. We have obtain- 
ed some reliable information upon this subject, which 
we will now proceed to give. 

The name of the brothers was Pencil. The Chris- 
tian name of the patriot was Henry, and that of the 
Tory was John. When John Pencil deliberately shot 
his brother Henry, the Indians who witnessed the hor- 
rible crime seemed shocked, and shook their heads, 
muttering, "Too bad — too bad; kill his brother." 

John Pencil fled to Canada with the other refugees, 
and settled in a wilderness. He was twice chased by 
wolves, and each time rescued by the Indians. The 
savages, however, began to think there was something 
judicial in the matter, and concluded to leave him to 
the retributions of Providence. They said, " He too 
wicked — too wicked ; Great Spirit angry ; Indian no 
more help him." It was not long before another pack 
of the ferocious wild dogs scented the fratricide, and 
this time they were left to satisfy their thirst for his 
blood. The miserable wretch was killed and devour- 
ed, an end well becoming such a monster. 



372 WYOMING. 

The death of John Pencil occurred not many years 
after the perpetration of the crime which has given 
him eminence among the greatest and vilest of sin- 
ners. It is not our object to moralize much upon the 
circumstances of the death of the fratricide. It is, 
however, not unworthy of notice, that, as the man's 
crime was stupendous, his death was marked by ex- 
traordinary circumstances, and such as indicate that 
" there is a God that judgeth in the earth." 

The fact of Pencil's death, under the circumstances 
above described, was communicated to Mrs. Alexander 
by a gentleman from Canada who professed to know 
the truth of what he related, and, so far as could be 
known at the time, was perfectly reliable. 

The following lines are by a literary friend : 

The morning sun rose bright and clear, 
The birds sang blithely on the bough ; 

But many an eye held trembling tear, 
And many a one show'd troubled brow. 

****** 

And there was one, a tear was in her eye, 
As silently she gazed upon her Henry dear, 

Which spoke a language that all words defy — 
That jewel of the heart, a sympathetic tear. 

"Oh, Henry, go not out to-day," 

His good companion cried ; 
"Can fiends snatch thee from me away?" 

She wept, and sobbed, and sighed. 

One moment in each other's arms entwined 

They stood, as one united strong ; 
The next saw Henry tread the wild, 

Toward the muster, 'gainst the wrong. 

At what befell that gallant little band, 
Mem'ry would shrink in horror to relate ; 

How some did fall by cruel savage hand, 
And some had torturing, lingering fate. 



THE FRATRICIDE. 875 

But Henry fled to Susquehanna's isle, 

And sought a covert in Monocasy ; 
And thought himself secure from Indian wile — 

Equally safe from treacherous Tories' eye. 

But hark ! he hears a crackle and a tread, 
And, looking up, his Tory brother spies ; 

Then shrinking back instinctively with dread, 
He finds himself perceived, and upward hies. 

" Oh, it is you !" the haughty brother said ; 

"You are a d — d rebel, and not fit for life !" 
Then raising up his gun, the fatal bullet sped, 

Making children orphans, a widow of his wife. 

John Pencil wander'd outcast and alone ; 

The Indians shunn'd him — were themselves afraid — 
The awful deed soften'd their hearts of stone, 

They thought his company a curse was made. 

He tried to flee ; Conscience always pursued, 
And found him ev'ry where — asleep, awake ; 

His brother's blood was in his soul imbued, 
Himself a fiend, and it a burning lake. 

The hungry, ravenous wolves pursued him twice ; 

As many times the Indian saved his life ; 
They thought, "Great Spirit angry" at his vice, 

And would not save again : they came on thrice, 

And, seizing him, his limbs from limb they tore, 
And cracked his living bones with bloody jaw, 

And quench'd their thirst upon his spouting gore, 
And yet alive, his flesh they tear and gnaw. 

Some scatter'd bones, uncover'd in the wood, 
Now mark the spot where died the fratricide ; 

Where he by living inches served for food, 
Because by him his brother Henry died. 

Oh, justice ! Retribution, it is right 

That thou shouldst fix upon the soul thy doom, 

And on the body exercise thy might, 

And stigmatize the name beyond the tomb. 



376 WYOMING. 



XIX. 

THE MOMUMENT. 

Colonel Butler returned to the Valley in August, 
but no attempt was made to gather up the remains of 
those who fell upon the battle-field until October. On 
the 21st of October he issued an order " that there be 
a party, consisting of a lieutenant, two sergeants, two 
corporals, and twenty-five men, to parade to-morrow 
morning, with arms, as a guard to those who will go 
to bury the remains of the men who were killed at the 
late battle at and near the place called Wintermoot's 
Fort." On the day the settlers, who had returned to 
the Y alley, assembled and proceeded, protected by the 
military escort provided by Colonel Butler, to perform 
the melancholy duty of interring what remained of 
their comrades, relations, and neighbors in as decent a 
manner as possible. The late General William Boss, 
who was present, informed Professor Silliman, when 
he was in the V alley in 1829, that, " owing to the in- 
tense heat of the weather, and probably the dryness of 
the air, the bodies were shriveled, dried, and inoffens- 
ive, but, with a single exception, their features could 
not be recognized." 

The bodies were taken up with pitchforks and car- 
ried upon a cart to the place of sepulture, where they 
were buried in a common grave. 

Strange as it may seem, the grave of the patriots 
who fell in the fatal " Indian battle" was for years 
wholly lost. It was known to be located not far from 
the main road, in a field belonging to Fisher Gay, 



THE MONUMENT. 377 

Esq. This field had long been cultivated, the plow 
and the scythe alternately passing over the remains 
of the relatives and friends of nearly every leading 
family in the "Valley, and yet there was none to rise up 
and claim for Wyoming's heroes the respect accorded 
in all civilized countries to the ashes of the common 
dead. Public sentiment was finally directed to the 
subject, and there was an awakening of the feelings 
of virtuous shame for a delinquency so strange and 
unnatural. A suitable monument over the bones of 
the patriot band finally came to be talked of as a mat- 
ter of decency, to say nothing of the gratitude to which 
their memory was entitled. So early as 1809, Hon. 
Charles Miner published several essays upon the sub- 
ject in a Wilkesbarre paper, but it was not until 1832 
that any thing like a decided movement was made to 
carry out the project. 

Several leading citizens of the Yalley becoming 
deeply interested in the question of the proposed mon- 
ument, the first thing which it was thought necessary 
to settle was the precise spot where the bones of the 
patriots lay. The ground was originally owned by 
"the widow Lee," and she subsequently married 
Philip Jackson, long after her death a resident at Forty 
Fort. Jackson remembered the mound which indi- 
cated the place of interment, and was employed to 
identify it. But little effort was necessary to effect the 
object. The common grave, where were mingled to- 
gether the bones of brothers and neighbors, officers 
and common soldiers, in close contact, was opened in 
the presence of several of the citizens residing in the 
vicinity. 

Some of the most interesting specimens of the re- 
mains were deposited in a box, and were kept for the 



378 WYOMING. 

examination of curious visitors, until most of them 
finally disappeared. We saw them before any of them 
had been conveyed .by sacrilegious hands to parts un- 
known. The skulls exhibited the marks of the toma- 
hawk and scalping-knife. Some of them had been 
broken in with the head or spike of the tomahawk, 
and others chipped with the edge by a glancing stroke. 
One had been broken in with the rim of the pipe of 
a smoking-tomahawk. We can imagine with what 
gusto the murderous wretch tasted the fumes of "the 
weed" taken in from the bowl of his favorite smoking- 
hatchet while it was yet stained with the blood of his 
victim. One skull was perforated by a bullet, and a 
thigh-bone had a bullet hole in the centre, which was 
made without effecting a lateral fracture, leaving the 
bone entirely sound with the exception of the smooth 
perforation. 

What awful associations did these memorials of the 
fatal 3d of July, 1778, bring up ! The bones are with- 
out sense or motion, but once they were the framework 
of bodies like our own — bodies which were inhabited 
by intelligent immortal spirits. They were deprived 
of their conscious reasoning tenant in a moment, or by 
slow, lingering agonies. The separation was violent, 
but, when consummated, the shouts of the victors and 
the clangor of the battle, which echoed from mountain- 
top to mountain-top, no more shocked the ear nor 
quickened the pulsations of the slain. They sleep in 
death until the morning of the resurrection. 

These sacred relics were now objects of universal 
curiosity and no ordinary veneration, and increased 
the tendency of the public mind in the direction of 
the monument which had been commenced. The 
time for action had come, and " a meeting of a number 



THE MONUMENT. 379 

of the early settlers of Wyoming Valley, who had rel- 
atives and acquaintances in the Wyoming massacre, 
and other citizens of Luzerne County, convened at the 
house of Major 0. Helme, in Kingston, on the 16th 
day of June, 1832, to take into consideration the sub- 
ject of erecting a monument to the memory of those 
who fell in that disastrous conflict. General William 
Eoss was appointed chairman, and Charles D. Shoe- 
maker secretary." After the object of the meeting 
had been stated by the chair, the following persons 
were appointed a committee to draft resolutions : John 
Carey, Colonel Benjamin Dorrance, Kev. Benjamin 
Bidlack, Colonel George P. Ransom, Calvin Wadhams, 
John Gore, Sen., Anderson Dana, Sen., Joseph Wright, 
and Benjamin Reynolds. 

The resolutions proposed and passed expressed the 
deep sympathy of the meeting with the movement, 
and prescribed preparatory measures for the accom- 
plishment of its object. One resolution was, "That 
we request the citizens of the Valley to meet at the 
house of F. Gay, in Kingston, on the 3d day of July 
next, at ten o'clock, for the purpose of adopting such 
measures as may be thought necessary to insure the 
erection of a monument." It was also "Resolved. 
That we invite our fellow-citizens to unite with us in 
paying a tribute of respect to the remains of those pat- 
riots on that day, it being the anniversary of the day 
of their massacre, by visiting the spot where rest their 

ashes." 

A committee was then appointed to negotiate for 
the purchase of " half an acre of ground, including the 
burial-place of those who fell in the battle of Wyo- 
ming." The committee was composed of Benjamin 
Dorrance, Calvin Wadhams, Anderson Dana, David 
Scott, and George M. Hollenback. 



380 WYOMING. 

U A committee of superintendence" was then ap- 
pointed "to arrange the order of the day, and that 
they be requested to procure a suitable person to de- 
liver an address on that day." The committee was as 
follows : John Carey, George P. Bansom, Sharp D. Lew- 
is, Pierce Butler, Charles D. Shoemaker, Fisher Gray, 
Elisha Harding, Sen., Ebenezer Slocum, Samuel Wad- 
hams, Joseph Jameson, Edward Inman, Benjamin A. 
Bidlack, Joseph Slocum, William Swetland, Harris 
Jenkins, William C. Eeynolds, William S. Boss, Charles 
Dorrance, Jonah Bogers, Francis Dana, Hiram Deni- 
son, Jonathan Stephens, Asa Stephens, John Bennet, 
Dr. John Smith, Isaac Harding, John Gore, Jr., Henry 
Pettibone, Daniel Boss, Avery Gore, and Jeremiah 
Gore.. 

The committee immediately arranged the following 
programme for the proposed meeting : 

" The procession will be formed at twelve o'clock, 
in the following order : 

u Those who may be present who were in the battle. 

" The soldiers of the Be volution. 

" The connections and descendants of those who fell 
in the battle. 

11 The orator of the day and the committee of super- 
intendence. 

" The early settlers who were not in the battle. 

" The citizens. 

" The procession will march in silence, or with suit- 
able music, to the place where those who were massa- 
cred were interred." 

The meeting was one of great public interest, and, 
as might be expected, a vast concourse of people at- 
tended. Bev. James May, now Bev. Dr. May, of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, was the orator. Associ- 



THE MONUMENT. 381 

ated with him in the services were Rev. Nicholas Mur- 
ray, now Rev. Dr. Murray, of the Presbyterian Church, 
and Rev. Charles Nash, of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, then all pastors in the borough of Wilkesbarre. 
The oration of Mr. May and the remarks of Mr. Mur- 
ray were published in the papers, and are now before 
us. 

Mr. May's address consists of a brief sketch of the 
objects of the meeting, the battle, and the consequences 
which followed. Toward its close we have the fol- 
lowing beautiful paragraphs : 

" When upward of fifty years have gone, we are in 
quiet possession of this valley. The sun in his daily 
journey looks upon few spots on which the Creator 
has combined more of the materials necessary for 
earthly happiness. No object of price in general can 
be gained without painstaking and sacrifice. The in- 
dependence of our common country was not secured 
without a long and toilsome struggle. This valley, so 
rich in soil, so lovely in scenery, could not be pos- 
sessed securely till the sacrifice was made, and that, too, 
of blood. The hands that more than half a century 
ago first struck the axe into the forests that had for 
ages shadowed these plains, lie mingled with the dust. 
The troubles of those times, when the Indians de- 
scended upon this valley, were borne by heads that 
are pillowed beneath the soil. See, fellow-citizens, the 
sacrifice which was made by the first civilized tenants 
of this valley. The grave containing their bones is 
uncovered before you. You see for yourselves the 
marks of the tomahawk and scalping-knife on the 
heads which are here uncovered, after having rested 
for more than fifty years. Peace be in this grave — 
sacred be the memory of them that sleep here. 



382 WYOMING. 

"A few who were themselves sharers in the toils 
and difficulties of those times yet survive, and are here 
this day to bear witness for us. Venerable citizens, 
we respect you for your years ; we honor you for the 
part you bore in the doings and sufferings of those 
days; we love and cherish the principles of liberty 
which animated you ; we owe you a debt of gratitude 
for the happy inheritance which you did your part to 
preserve unimpaired for your children. You have 
passed within the lines of the second half century since 
you opened a grave here for your brothers whom the 
Indians slaughtered on these plains. This valley, 
which you saw as it was when but a frontier, you sur- 
vive to see in the midst of a population of many hund- 
reds of thousands overspreading the country beyond 
you. But on this day, and where you now are, you 
can not but think of what you once saw in this place. 
We would stand aside while you look into this grave, 
and see the bones of your brothers, which fifty years 
ago you assisted in sadly laying here. We would not 
intrude while, as you stand beside these bones, you 
think how you stood beside your friends when they 
lived. For your sakes we are glad that this day has 
come. We rejoice to think that you may see yet a 
stone raised here, on which the names of those you 
laid in this spot shall be engraven." 

Mr. Murray made a few characteristic and happy 
remarks, among which were the following : 

" You see these bleached heads and bending forms 
around me. These worthies have come down to us 
from the last century, and are the companions of the 
heroes to whose manly frames these mouldering bones 
belonged. Could the breath of life be breathed into 
these bones — could they rise in the possession of living 



THE MONUMENT. 383 

energy, they would find, even among this small rem- 
nant, a few brothers and sons. As the gentleman on 
my right was narrating the incidents of the horrible 
massacre, I saw the tear stealing down the furrowed 
cheeks of these fathers of our community. That tear 
told me that they felt — that they deeply felt ; and 
methinks that there is not a heart in this vast con- 
course that does not sympathize with them. They de- 
sire that a monument should be erected over the com- 
mon grave of their fathers, and brothers, and compan- 
ions. And do you not sympathize with them? I 
know you do. I feel persuaded that you are anxious 
to place a liberal subscription on this paper before you 
retire from this place. You court the honor of con- 
tributing to the erection of the Wyoming Monument. 
My great fear is that we shall not all have the privi- 
lege of giving. I would therefore caution the rich 
not to indulge their patriotic feelings too freely, lest 
the poor should be debarred. We all want to have 
our stone in the Wyoming Monument." 

Our friend Murray's fears of being overwhelmed with 
a deluge of money turned out not to have been very 
well founded, for the subscription was so inadequate 
that the enterprise rested for seven years. In 1839, 
an able committee was sent to Hartford to solicit aid 
from the Legislature of Connecticut. The claims of 
the original settlers of Wyoming upon Connecticut 
were ably advocated, and a report was presented which 
proposed a grant of three thousand dollars to aid in 
the erection of the proposed monument, but was not 
acted upon. In 1841, another petition and another 
deputation were sent on, and for a time the thing 
seemed likely to succeed. The Lower House voted 
the appropriation by a large majority, but the Senate 
did not concur. 



384 



WYOMING. 



Having failed in their efforts to procure foreign aid, 
like the wagoner in the fable who prayed to Hercules 
for help, the people of Wyoming resorted to the bet- 
ter plan of putting their shoulder to the wheel. This 
time the ladies took the matter in hand, and it was 
bound to go. They formed what was denominated 
" The Luzerne Monumental Association." The names 
of the officers and committee were as follows : Mrs. 
Chester Butler, President ; Mrs. G\ M. Hollenback and 
Mrs. E. Carey, Vice-presidents ; Mrs. Butler, Mrs. Nich- 
olson, Mrs. Hollenback, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Eoss, Mrs. 
Cunningham, Mrs. Beaumont, Mrs. Drake, Mrs. Ben- 
net, Mrs. Carey, Executive Committee ; Miss Emily Cist, 
Treasurer ; Miss Gertrude Butler, Secretary ; Mrs. Don- 
ley, Mrs. L. Butler, Corre- 
sponding Committee. 

The ladies solicited do- 
nations, held fairs, and, by 
dint of zeal and persever- 
ance, succeeded in raising 
the funds for the erection 
ot a monument at once of 
the patriotic deeds of their 
fathers and of their own 
power. The monument is 
constructed of granite, and 
is sixty -two and a half feet 
in height. On three mar- 
ble slabs are engraved the 
following inscriptions. 

On the front slab, composed by Edward Mallory, 
Esq., is the following : 

Near this spot "was fought, on the afternoon of the 8d of July, 1778, 
the Battle of Wyoming, in which a small band of patriotic Ameri- 




THE MONUMENT. 385 

cans, chiefly the undisciplined, the youthful, and the aged, spared by 
inefficiency from the distant ranks of the Republic, led by Colonel 
Zebulon Butler and Colonel Nathan Denison, with a courage that 
deserved success, boldly met and bravely fought a combined Brit- 
ish, Tory, and Indian force of thrice their number. Numerical su- 
periority alone gave success to the invader, and widespread havoc, 
desolation, and ruin marked his savage and bloody footsteps through 
the Valley. 

This monument, commemorative of these events, and in memory 
of the actors in them, has been erected over the bones of the slain by 
their descendants and others, who gratefully appreciate the services 
and sacrifices of their patriotic ancestors. 

On the other slabs the following : 

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. 

Slain in the battle : Field-officers : Lieutenant Colonel George 
Dorrance, Major John Garret. Captains : James Bidlack, Jun., 
Aholiab Buck, Robert Durkee, Rezin Geer, Joseph Whittlesey, De- 
thic Hewit, William M'Karaghan, Samuel Ransom, Lazarus Stew- 
art, James Wigton. Lieutenants : A. Atherton, Stoddart Bowen, 
Aaron Gaylord, Timothy Pierce, Perrin Ross, Elijah Shoemaker, 
Lazarus Stewart, Jun., Asa Stevens, Flavius Waterman, James 
Wells. Ensigns : Jeremiah Bigford, Asa Gore, Silas Gore, Titus 
Hinman, John Otis, William White. Privates : Jabez Atherton, 

Christopher Avery, Acke, A. Benedict, Jabez Beers, Samuel 

Bigford, Elias Bixby, David Bixby, John Boyd, John Brown, Thom- 
as Brown, William Buck, James Budd, Amos Bullock, Henry 
Buck, John Caldwell, Isaac Campbell, Josiah Cameron, Joseph Ca- 
rey, Joel Church, James Coffrin, William Coffrin, Samuel Cole, 
Robert Comstock, [three] brothers Cook, Christopher Cortright, John 
Cortright, Anson Coray, Rufus Coray, Jenks Coray, Samuel Crock- 
er, Joseph Crocker, Jabez Darling, D. Denton, Conrad Devenport, 
Anderson Dana, James Divine, George Downing, Levi Dunn, Will- 
iam Dunn, Ducher, Benjamin Finch, John Finch, Daniel 

Finch, Elisha Fitch, Cornelius Fitchett, Eliphalet Follett, Thomas 
Faxen, John Franklin, Thomas Fuller, Stephen Fuller, Gard- 
ner, George Gore, Green, Samuel Hutchinson, William Ham- 
mond, Silas Harvey, Benjamin Hatch, Cyprian Hebard, Levi Hicks, 
James Hopkins, Nathaniel Howard, John Hutchins, Israel Inman, 
Elijah Inman, Joseph Jennings, Samuel Jackson, Robert Jameson, 

Henry Johnson, Lester, Joshua Landon, Daniel Lawrence, 

William Lawrence, Francis Ledyard, James Lock, Conrad Lowe, 

E 



386 WYOMING. 

Jacob Lowe, Nicholas Manvill, Job Marshall, New Matthewson, C. 
M'Cartee, A. Meeleman, Robert M'Intire, Andrew Millard, John 
Murphy, Joseph Ogden, John Pierce, Abel Palmer, Silas Parke, 
William Packer, Henry Pencil, Noah Pettibone, Jun., Jeremiah 
Ross, Reynolds, Elisha Richards, Elias Roberts, Enos Rock- 
way, Timothy Ross, James Shaw, Constant Searle, Abel Seeley, 
Joseph Shaw, Abraham Shaw, Darius Spafford, Levi Spencer, Jo- 
siah Spencer, Eleazar Sprague, Aaron Stark, Daniel Stark, Joseph 
Staples, Rufus Stevens, James Stevenson, Naler Sweed, Ichabod 
Tuttle, John Van Wee, Abraham Vangorder, Elisha Waters, Barthol- 
omew Weeks, Jonathan Weeks, Philip Weeks, Peter Wheeler, Ste- 
phen Whiton, Esen Wilcox, John Williams, Elihu Williams, Jun., 
Rufus Williams, Azibah Williams, John Ward, John Wilson, Parker 
"Wilson, Wade, William Woodringer, Ozias Yale. 

The plan of the monument has not, as yet, been 
fully carried out. It has around it no railing of any 
sort. The ground is not ornamented by trees, shrubs, 
and flowers. The spot looks neglected ; and we are 
free to confess, mortifying as it is for us to .say so, that 
the Wyoming Monument — a thing that should be the 
pride of the Valley — is indicative of too great a want 
of public spirit in our citizens. Where are the ladies 
of Wyoming ? Since the monument has been brought 
to its present state, the daughters of those who did the 
work have come upon the stage. Let them arise in 
their might, and finish the work so well begun by their 
noble mothers. Let the present generation of Wyo- 
ming ladies prove by their works that they are not 
inferior to the preceding generation in patriotism, en- 
ergy, taste, and public spirit. A thousand dollars could 
be well laid out upon the monument and grounds, and 
ought to be forthcoming. Half that sum would re- 
deem this noble monument of patriotism rarely met 
with on the pages of the world's history from the dis- 
grace which seems to rest upon it. Happy indeed we 
are that the Wyoming Monument is a fact, but much 



THE MONUMENT. 387 

more happy should we be to see the original design, 
so well conceived, fully completed, that visitors from 
all quarters of the globe might be struck with admi- 
ration not only of the bravery of the patriots who fell 
in the battle, but also of the pious gratitude, the lib- 
erality, the love of art, and the elevated taste of their 
descendants. " The Monument" should be the most 
beautiful and inviting spot in the Valley. It should 
be surrounded with an iron railing, and the plot of 
ground around it should be ornamented with the 
choicest shrubbery and flowers. The genius of pat- 
riotism and of art should preside there. It should be 
a place where one would love, in solitude, to spend 
the twilight of evening in holy meditations, and in 
reminiscences of the olden time. While it points back 
to a stern, bloody period in our history, it should in- 
dicate the fact of progress, and prophesy a glorious 
future. 



388 WYOMING. 



XX. 

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 

The sketches of the historic life of "Wyoming would 
be incomplete without Colonel Franklin or Colonel 
Jenkins. They were the representatives of one of the 
two classes of opinions which divided the people of 
Wyoming at an important period of its history. The 
reader will already have been made acquainted with 
the fact that, subsequent to the decree of Trenton, the 
people of Wyoming were divided into two factions : 
one was for yielding to the jurisdiction of Pennsyl- 
vania, and the other was for resistance. A series of 
irritating causes on both sides served to embitter feel- 
ings and provoke violent hostility. Colonel Hollen- 
back may be considered as representing the Pennsyl- 
vania side of this great question, and Colonel Jenkins 
that of Connecticut. The former — after the question 
of the right of jurisdiction had been legally settled, 
saying nothing about the justice of the decision — was 
for giving up the struggle ; while the latter, believing 
the decision unjust to the State of Connecticut, and es- 
pecially to the Connecticut settlers, and also that Penn- 
sylvania had acted in bad faith, was for defending 
what he considered the right to the last. The two 
men are historical characters, and each deserves an im- 
partial representation in these pages. The feud and 
the embittered feelings which the struggle engendered 
have long since passed away, and the time has come for 
the historian to review the whole scene with calmness 
and impartial justice. 



COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 389 

The materials for the following sketch have been 
derived partly from the contributions of lion. Steuben 
Jenkins and John K. Jenkins, Esq., grandsons of Col- 
onel Jenkins ; partly from the papers of Colonel Pick- 
ering, copies of which have been kindly furnished us 
by Mr. Hollenback ; and partly from Mr. Miner's his- 
tory. The portion derived from Mr. Miner we have 
faithfully quoted. 

John Jenkins, the elder, was a lineal descendant of 
Judge Jenkins, who was imprisoned by the Long Par- 
liament, was born in Wales, whence he migrated to 
this country about the year 1735, landing at Boston ; 
but, being one of that " persecuted" sect called Quakers, 
he was driven out, with others, and passed over into 
Providence, Ehode Island, and thence into Windham 
County, Connecticut, where he became engaged in the 
Susquehanna Purchase in 1754, and in 1762 he and 
one hundred and eighteen others removed to Wyo- 
ming to possess themselves of the Purchase. In Oc- 
tober, 1763, they were driven off by the Indians, and re- 
turned again to Connecticut, where they remained un- 
til the spring of 1769, at which time they again, with 
about three hundred others, removed to Wyoming, 
and took possession of their lands. 

John Jenkins took possession of and held all the 
lands from the township line of Kingston and Exeter 
to the head of Wyoming Valley, between the river and 
the foot of the mountain. His residence was fixed just 
above the northwestern end of the Pittston Ferry 
Bridge, where he, in connection with others, built what 
was known as Jenkins's Fort. He was driven thence 
by the Indians, British, and Tories on the day before 
the memorable "Wyoming massacre," on the 2d day 



390 WYOMING. 

of July, 1778, and fled into Orange County, New York, 
where he died in 1785. 

He was a surveyor and conveyancer by profession ; 
was elected one of the members of Assembly for 
Westmoreland in the Connecticut Assembly for its 
session commencing in May, 1774 ; also for May, 1775 ; 
and the session of May, 1777. He had the honor of 
presiding at the town meeting on the 1st of August, 
1775, when resolutions in favor of liberty were adopt- 
ed. — See Miner's History, p. 165. 

His loss by the depredations of the Indians, as stated 
in the journal of John Jenkins, Jr., was £598 Is. 3d. 

Colonel John Jenkins, the younger, was born in 
"Windham County, Connecticut, on the 27th of Novem- 
ber, 1751, 0. S., and died in Exeter, Luzerne County, 
on the site of Wintermoot Fort, where he settled im- 
mediately after the close of the Indian wars in the Val- 
ley, about 1780. He was married on the 23d of June, 
1778, in Wyoming, to Bethiah Harris, who was born 
in Colchester, Connecticut, on the 14th of September, 
1752, and died August 12th, 1842, aged about ninety 
years. 

Previous to the Revolution, Mr. Jenkins, with four 
other men, were surveying in the State of New York, 
and lived principally in cabins in the woods. On one 
occasion five Indians came to their camp, and appear- 
ed very friendly. The Indians wanted some provis- 
ions, and said they were going down the creek hunt- 
ing, and would return in a few days and give them 
venison. 

That night those five Indians came back and fired 
upon them as they lay asleep, killing one man and 
wounding another : Mr. Jenkins jumped up, took his 



COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 391 

compass-staff, and commenced operation in the way of 
desperate self-defense. On looking behind him, he saw 
an Indian with his tomahawk just in the act of strik- 
ing him in the head, but with one blow knocked the 
Indian into the large fire that was burning before the 
cabin door. On turning around again, he saw another 
Indian in the act of striking him over the head with 
his gun : he caught the gun and wrung it from the 
Indian, and drove him through the fire. The Indians 
then fled, leaving their bloody tracks on the snow as 
they went. Jenkins and his surviving comrades made 
a litter, and carried the wounded man to the settle- 
ment, leaving the dead one rolled up in his blanket. 

A party of men went in pursuit of the five Indians, 
which were soon found and delivered up as prisoners. 
They were taken to Newtown, Elmira, where it was 
determined that Jenkins should decide on the mode 
of punishment. He found that four of the party had 
been induced to commit the terrible act by an old 
savage by the name of Big Hand — having previously 
been wounded in the hand, making it considerably 
larger than the other. The four young Indians caught 
hold of Jenkins's coat and begged for mercy; Jenkins 
had compassion on them and let them go; but old 
Big Hand had to be punished, and his death-warrant 
prescribed that he should be pounded to death with 
pine knots, which was heartily done, most of those 
present taking an active part in this terrible infliction 
of capital punishment. 

Mr. Jenkins was taken prisoner by the Indians in 
November, 1777, and returned to "Wyoming on the 2d 
of June, 1778. 

The following is Mr. Miner's account of Mr. Jen- 
kins's captivity and release : "In November, 1777, he 



392 WYOMING. 

was on a scouting party up the river near fifty miles. 
Mr. York, father of the Eev. Miner York, was one of 
his companions; Lemuel Fitch was another. They 
were ambushed not far from Wyalusing captured by 
a party of Indians, and taken to the British lines. An 
Indian chief of some celebrity was a prisoner to the 
Americans in Albany, and Colonel John Butler sent 
Mr. Jenkins, under an escort of Indians, to be ex- 
changed for the chief. On the way he suffered ex- 
ceedingly, and, had it not been that a young savage had 
become warmly attached to him, Mr. Jenkins thought 
he should have been massacred, and was almost sure 
he should have been starved. Ardent and constant in 
his attachments, as implacable and cruel in his resent- 
ments, the savage presents a character in which vice 
and virtue are strangely mingled and strangely con- 
trasted. The young Indian, amid rum and riot, for 
his sake kept himself sober and calm, fed him, protect- 
ed him ; and Mr. Jenkins was prompt, at all times, to 
do justice to his faithful friend, though, from the cruel- 
ties practiced here, the savages were generally objects 
of horror and detestation. 

"Arrived at Albany, the chief for whom he was to 
have been exchanged had just died of small-pox. The 
Indians insisted on taking Mr. Jenkins back with them. 
From their conduct and character, he felt certain that 
they would take his life, in revenge for that of their 
chief, the moment they were beyond reach of pursuit. 
He was protected, and found his way home to a cor- 
dial welcome from his friends." 

On the 5th of June, 1778, he commenced keeping a 
journal of events transpiring in Wyoming and at oth- 
er points where he was called in the discharge of his 
duties. He kept no journal during his captivity 



COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 393 

among the Indians. He was not married previous to 
his captivity, but three weeks subsequent to his return. 
He was a surveyor and conveyancer by profession, 
and he followed this business in early life, and for 
many years after the Eevolution. It is understood 
that at the time of the massacre he was in command at 
Forty Fort. Immediately after the massacre, he, with 
others, went out to meet Spaulding's company, which 
they found at the Lehigh Eiver. He joined Spaul- 
ding's company on the 6th of July, 1778, and was in- 
vested with the position of lieutenant in it. He con- 
tinued in active service in this company until the close 
of the campaign of 1782, when he resigned his commis- 
sion, and returned home to take part in the defense of 
the Wyoming settlement. 

In the winter of 1778 and 1779, General Hand, in 
command of the forces at Minisink, New York, wrote 
to Colonel Z. Butler at Wyoming for information in 
regard to the Indian settlements on the head waters 
of the Susquehanna and in the west of New York, de- 
siring to know their strength and position, and the fa- 
cilities, if any, for an expedition against them by way 
of the Susquehanna Eiver. Colonel Butler replied, 
giving the information desired, and expressed in his 
letter his obligations to Lieutenant John Jenkins for 
the information he had been able to communicate. 
Soon after General Hand had received the letter of 
Colonel Butler, he ordered Lieutenant Jenkins to ap- 
pear before General Washington at head-quarters. In 
pursuance of this order, he set out on the 1st of April, 
1779, and on the 6th of April waited on General 
Washington. From the facts laid before General 
Washington at this interview, he planned and put 
in execution the expedition under General Sullivan 

E2 



394 WYOMING. 

against the Western Indians. General Sullivan ar- 
rived in Wyoming June 22, 1779, and, taking Lieu- 
tenant Jenkins for his chief guide, started with his ex- 
pedition up the river on the 31st of July, 1779. This 
expedition was entirely successful. The information 
possessed by Lieutenant Jenkins in reference to the 
Indians and their country was obtained by him dur- 
ing his captivity among them. 

In her efforts to establish her jurisdiction over the 
disputed territory, Pennsylvania found active and in- 
fluential opponents in Colonel John Franklin and Col- 
onel John Jenkins. Luzerne County was fully organ- 
ized in May, 1787, by the agency of Colonel Tim- 
othy Pickering, who was appointed for that purpose 
by act of Assembly. Colonel Pickering was a New 
England man, but had become a citizen of Philadelphia. 
Having business in the northern part of Pennsylvania, 
he passed through Wyoming. Upon his return, he 
was questioned with regard to his impressions as to 
the best method of quieting matters in that disturbed 
district of country. He had conversed with many of 
the people, and freely imparted the information which 
he had received, and gave his views of their disposi- 
tion to have quiet upon reasonable terms. Presuming 
upon the advantages he would have as a New England 
man, as well as his capabilities, the appointment was 
made, and he removed his family to Wyoming. He 
was a man of fine address, and was a great tactician. 
He soon raised a strong party among the old Yankees, 
who preferred to be "quieted in their possessions" 
under the laws of Pennsylvania to being in endless 
strife and a state of insufferable vexation. 

Colonel Franklin headed a counter movement. 
While he was organizing his forces and agitating the 



COLOXEL JOHN JENKINS. 395 

public mind, lie was arrested upon a charge of treason 
against the state, under a warrant issued by Judge 
M'Kean, by four officers specially commissioned for 
the purpose in Philadelphia. He was seized in "the 
old red tavern" in Wilkesbarre. Colonel Pickering 
says, " The four gentlemen seized him. Two of their 
horses were in my stable, which were sent to them ; 
but soon my servant returned on one of them, with a 
message from the gentlemen that people were assem- 
bling in numbers, and requesting me to come with 
what men were near me to prevent a rescue. I took 
loaded pistols in my hands, and went with another ser- 
vant to their aid. Just as I met them, Franklin threw 
himself off from his horse and renewed his struggle 
with them. His hair was disheveled and face bloody 
from preceding efforts. I told the gentlemen they 
would never carry him off unless his feet were tied 
under his horse. I sent for a cord. The gentlemen 
remounted him, and my servant tied his feet. Then, 
one taking his bridle and another following behind, 
and the others riding one on each side, they whipped 
up their horses, and were soon beyond the reach of his 
friends." 

This violent proceeding aroused the indignation of 
Colonel Franklin's partisans, and Colonel Pickering, 
anticipating retaliatory measures upon himself, fled to 
Philadelphia. After it was presumed that the heat of 
the excitement had passed, Colonel Pickering returned 
to his family in Wyoming. It was not long before he 
was taken from his bed at dead of night by a party 
of men, and carried up the river and secreted in the 
woods. Colonel Pickering has left a particular narra- 
tive of his abduction and detention, which will be found 
published in Mr. Miner's History. We have a manu- 



396 WYOMING. 

script copy of the narrative, together with the whole 
course of Colonel Pickering's proceedings under the 
authority of Pennsylvania, now before us. Colonel 
Pickering's views of the whole question in difficulty 
are herein lucidly set forth. 

In his narrative of his peregrinations through the 
wilderness, among the mountains and ravines of the 
north, in the neighborhood of the Susquehanna, the 
gallant colonel notes some instances of abuse and some 
of kindness. He was bound with fetters of iron, and 
a chain attached to him, because poor Franklin was 
lying in jail in irons. But they roasted for him a 
piece of meat occasionally, and once prepared him a 
dish of " coffee," made of burned " Indian meal." He 
says this " was an agreeable change for our green tea." 
The "green tea" was made of wintergreen. He was 
several times asked if he would " intercede for Colonel 
Franklin's pardon," to which he uniformly answered, 
"No, I will not." 

The militia had been in pursuit of the party, and 
some skirmishes occurred, in which men were wounded 
on both sides, and one of "the ruffians" died of his 
wound. But, finding Colonel Pickering inflexible, the 
" rioters" sent him home down the river in a boat, and 
he made his appearance at his own door, to the great 
joy of his family. After washing, shaving, and chang- 
ing his clothes, the dignified functionary was himself 
again. He had been absent twenty days. 

Colonel Pickering speaks of Colonel Jenkins in 
terms of great severity, and goes so far as to charge 
him with being the contriver of his abduction, and 
then meanly deserting his pliant tools. "After en- 
couraging and engaging them in the diabolical outrage 
upon me," says he, "he had deserted them." This is 



COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 397 

a most uncharitable and unwarrantable view of the 
case. In the first place, Colonel Jenkins had nothing 
to do with the abduction, and, in the next place, he 
was too honorable and brave a man meanly to desert 
his friends. The following may be presumed a fair 
and truthful answer to this unjust and cruel imputa- 
tion, and is a complete vindication of the character of 
Colonel Jenkins. It is from the pen of Lion. Steuben 
Jenkins. 

" There is a circumstance mentioned in Miner's His- 
tory, p. 423, upon which I deem a few words necessa- 
ry. Soon after the appearance of Stone's History of 
Wyoming, about 1839, my attention was called to it 
by seeing it in that history. I asked my grandmother 
concerning the circumstances connected with the ab- 
duction of Pickering, and she gave me the following 
account. A meeting of the friends of Franklin had 
been warned on the night of his abduction, for the pur- 
pose of taking into consideration some measures by 
which they might obtain his release. It was thought 
by all that Pickering had the power to release him at 
any time merely by writing to the proper authorities 
for that purpose, and it was therefore proposed by 
some to make an amicable adjustment of the matters 
in dispute with Pickering ; by others it was proposed 
to take Pickering, and confine him as a prisoner until 
he should cause Franklin to be released. John Jen- 
kins, who until this time had taken part with the most 
zealous friends of Franklin, was opposed to this last 
proposition, considering that it would tend to exasper- 
ate the friends of Pickering, and render the confine- 
ment of Franklin more close, and would be productive 
of no real utility, but, on the other hand, might result 
in serious injury both to Franklin and his cause. The 



398 WYOMING. 

hot-blooded carried the day, and John Jenkins refused 
to have any thing farther to do with it, and so declared 
himself at the time. By those who failed to enlist 
him in their schemes he was declared to be an obsti- 
nate man, and they attributed to his position in this 
matter the defeat of their plans. 

"It was one of Colonel Jenkins's distinguishing 
traits, that when he once said he would or would not 
do a thing, that was the end of it. To do as he agreed 
was worth every effort of his nature, and he usually 
gave it to that end. During the controversy between 
the Connecticut and Pennsylvania settlers he declared 
that he would never yield — that he would never hold 
an inch of land under a Pennsylvania title. True to 
his word, he never did own an inch of land with a 
Pennsylvania title, and by reason of not taking title 
under Pennsylvania he lost a large amount of valua- 
ble property. He owned six miles square of the town- 
ships of Blakely, Carbondale, Greenfield, etc., but re- 
fused to take title for it under Pennsylvania, and there- 
fore lost it all. 

"In September, 1786, he and Colonel John Frank- 
lin, as a committee of the Wyoming settlers, went to 
Philadelphia to fight against the Pennsylvania claim- 
ants, and against the Connecticut settlers being com- 
pelled to take out Pennsylvania titles, and to ask for 
some measures of relief. On the 11th of September 
they had a conference with his excellency B. Frank- 
lin, President of Council, laid their affairs before him, 
and were heard by him with great attention and re- 
spect. While in attendance there on council, to wit, 
on the 25th of September, 1786, Luzerne County was 
established, and that put an end to their mission by 
effectually putting the territory under the laws and 



COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 399 

officers of Pennsylvania. But still the fight with him 
did not end here. 

" He appealed, and went to Congress, where he was 
in 1801 and 1802, asking relief from that source. 
Failing in that, he returned to Wyoming, and was, in 
1803, elected one of the members — Franklin being the 
other — from Luzerne County. Here they renewed 
the fight, but, being defeated, they gave it up, and con- 
cluded to let Pennsylvania rule, but still hold to their 
Connecticut titles, which they did." 

Colonel Pickering seems to have imbibed a strong 
prejudice against Colonel Jenkins. This was natural 
enough, as they had come into violent collision upon 
a question which Colonel Pickering had greatly at 
heart. What is a little strange, however, is the fact 
that his dislike increased in acrimony with the lapse 
of time. The conflict raged from 1787 on, and in 1798 
Colonel Pickering drew up a statement of the whole 
case, entitled, " A concise Narration of the Wyoming 
Dispute," in which he gives a very fair view of the 
reasonable expectations and just claims of the Connec- 
ticut settlers. In 1818, in connection with a history 
of "the outrage committed on him," in a letter to his 
son, he reviews the matter of the Connecticut claim, 
and sets it down as utterly baseless, and characterizes 
Colonel Franklin and Colonel Jenkins, and those who 
acted with them, as " rioters" and " traitors" for resist- 
ing measures which, according to his well-considered 
opinions at the time, were oppressive and inhuman. 

For a clear understanding of the position of Colonel 
Jenkins on the question at issue — for this is the point 
we are laboring to bring out — we need no informa- 
tion excepting that which Colonel Pickering gives us. 

First. He admits that it is not " surprising that Con- 



400 WYOMING, 

necticut should claim that part of Pennsylvania which 
was comprehended hi a charter twenty years older 
than Mr. Penn's," and that, all circumstances consider- 
ed, the Legislature of Pennsylvania should be disposed 
"to view the subject in dispute in the most favorable 
light for the unfortunate settlers." — Concise Narrative, 
p. 11. 

Secondly. He admits that, when he took the appoint- 
ment from the Pennsylvania Legislature, it was with 
the distinct understanding that the Connecticut people 
would be quieted in their possessions, and their titles 
under Connecticut would be confirmed; and that, in 
his efforts to bring the people to terms, he had assured 
them that this would be the case. — Concise Narrative, 
p. 9. 

Thirdly. Upon the presentation of a petition from 
"near three hundred of the Connecticut claimants, 
praying for a confirmation of their titles, to the Gen- 
eral Assembly," the petition was " substantially" grant- 
ed. — Concise Narrative, p. 9, 10. 

Fourthly. " Instances of bad faith" on the part of the 
General Assembly furnished ground of suspicion " that 
the confirming law itself would be set aside as soon as 
they should be effectually brought under the govern- 
ment of Pennsylvania."* — Concise Narrative, p. 13, 14. 

* In giving an account of a public meeting, which he held for the 
purpose of explaining to the people the disposition of the General 
Assembly of Pennsylvania to do them justice, Colonel Pickering 
says, "But just as I was closing prosperously, as I thought, my 
month's labor, a pretty shrewd man, John Jenkins, a major of their 
militia, arose and said, ' They had too often experienced the bad 
faith of Pennsylvania to place confidence in any new measures of its 
Legislature ; and that, if they should enact a quieting law, they 
would repeal it as soon as the Connecticut settlers submitted, and 
were completely saddled with the laws of the state.' This was 



COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 401 

Fifthly. " The confirming law" was repealed by the 
Legislature in 1788. " This," says Colonel Pickering, 
"always appeared to me unjust and cruel." — Letter, 
p. 36. 

Sixthly. The efforts to dispossess the Connecticut 
settlers by law wholly failed. Suits were brought 
against them, and " after eight years they had partly 
tried one cause."* — Concise Narrative, p. 20. 

Seventhly. What is called the compromise law was 
passed in 1799, and this closed all farther legal pro- 
ceedings against the Connecticut settlers.-)- 

By the terms of this law, " commissioners were to re- 
survey lots claimed by the Connecticut settlers, whose 
title — precisely as in the confirming law — originated 
before the decree of Trenton. A certificate was to be 
issued to the settler, on presenting which to the land- 
office, and paying the compensation fixed, he should 
receive a patent.":): — Miner's History, p. 454. 

prophetic; but I had then no faith in the prophecy." — Letter, p. 
15, 16. 

* Colonel Pickering says: "Although one suit was brought by a 
Pennsylvania claimant against an old Connecticut settler, and judg- 
ment in a court of the United States was given in favor of the plain- 
tiff, yet the Connecticut settlers kept possession of their farms. They 
were too numerous to be removed and driven as vagabonds upon the 
wide world. The magnitude of the evil became more sensible [evi- 
dent], and at length the Legislature yielded to expediency what they 
had denied to equity." — Letter, p. 37. 

t "They passed a law to secure the Connecticut settlers in their 
possessions upon their paying some small prices — not a twentieth 
part of the intrinsic value — for their lands, varied according to their 
qualities. Thus the controversy was ended, but infinitely to the loss 
of Pennsylvania. " — Colonel Pickering's Letter, p. 37. 

% "Terms of the compromising law of April 4, 1799. Commis- 
sioners were to divide the lands into four classes. Pennsylvania 
claimants who preferred to release their lands to the state, rather 
than have them appraised by a jury, were to receive, for the first 



402 WYOMING. 

A portion of the Connecticut settlers, as a matter of 
principle, refused to pay to Pennsylvania the price for 
their lands required by the compromise law, and Colo- 
nel Jenkins was one of these. He considered it a 
piece of assumption — an act of injustice — and contin- 
ued to protest against it to the last. 

The facts above presented, mostly from Colonel 
Pickering, the Pennsylvania functionary, will present 
the course pursued by Colonel Jenkins in its true light, 
and will relieve his fair fame from the disparaging im- 
putations cast upon it by the same Colonel Pickering. 
Had the latter gentleman been free from the prejudices 
generated by opposition and disappointment, he would 
probably have viewed the conduct of Franklin and 
Jenkins with more charity. Both parties were pursu- 
ing what they considered the line of duty. Their in- 
terests and their opinions came into collision, and they 
both fought with courage and ability. 

How strongly Colonel Jenkins adhered to his posi- 
tion will farther appear by the following anecdote. 
When the Pennsylvania commissioners were survey- 
ing the "Wyoming lands, they found that the Connecti- 
cut settlers did not like the idea of having their lands 
surveyed by the Pennamites. It was in the time of 
buckwheat harvest, and Colonel Jenkins was drawing 
in 'his buckwheat with a yoke of oxen and sled, and a 
wooden fork. The commissioners came up to the line 
on the flats, and John Jenkins commanded them to 
stop, and not undertake to cross his land, at their peril. 
They, seeing that Jenkins meant what he said, retired, 

class, $5 00 an acre ; second class, $3 00 ; third class, $1 50; fourth 
class, 25 cents. Connecticut claimants were to pay, for lands of the 
first class, $2 00; second, $1 20; third, 50 cents ; fourth, 8£ cents." 
— Miner's History, p. 454. 



COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. +<>:; 

and returned to Wilkesbarre. Soon after, they took 
Jenkins with a warrant and put him in prison. One 
of the witnesses swore he had an iron fork, but after- 
ward proved that it was only a forked stick, with 
which he beat back the corps of surveyors. Colonel 
Jenkins was kept in jail until the commissioners com- 
pleted their survey, and while he lived he lived under 
Connecticut laws, and would never succumb to Penn- 
sylvania " aggression." He was never conquered, but 
went down to his grave protesting against "Pennsyl- 
vania usurpation." 

A claimant of a still different character obtruded 
himself upon the attention of Colonel Jenkins, who was 
summarily disposed of. 

One of the descendants of the Wintermoot family, 
who formerly owned his farm, came to see Jenkins in 
regard to title, etc. Wintermoot was quite inquisitive, 
and asked a good many questions about the land and 
title before he made himself known. As soon as he 
said that his name was Wintermoot, Jenkins raised a 
chair, and threw at him with such violence as to break 
it in pieces ; but Wintermoot made good his escape. 
Jenkins told him to leave, or he would put him in 
possession of his land in short time. 

Colonel Jenkins died March 19, 1827, aged seventy 
years and almost four months. A large circle of his 
descendants live in Wyoming and Exeter. The old 
place at Wintermoot' s Fort is still in the family, and 
the antique residence is still in a good state of preser- 
vation. The glorious old spring, from which the Win- 
termoots, and Colonel John Butler, and his Tories and 
Indians, slaked their thirst on the memorable 3d of 
July, is there yet, and there will doubtless remain till 
time shall be no more. 



404 WYOMING. 




OLD JE>*KIN8 HOUSE. 



Colonel Jenkins had his share of the sufferings and 
misfortunes of Wyoming. The great "ice-flood" car- 
ried away his house and furniture, he rec6vering little 
except " bed and bedding," which were found lodged 
in the tops of the trees below Toby's Eddy. 

In person Colonel Jenkins was of medium height, 
stout, well-proportioned, framed for strength, endur- 
ance, and activity combined; extremely hospitable, 
remarkably clever, yet grave almost to austerity when 
in thought. When animated in conversation, there 
was a pleasing expression on his countenance. His 
style was brief and sententious. Like Atreus's son, 

"He spoke no more than just the thing he ought." 

(See Miner, App., p. 29.) 



JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT. 405 



XXI. 

ORIGINAL JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER nURLBUT. 

The following brief record of the events of the 
wars in Wyoming was kindly furnished us by Samuel 
Hoyt, Esq., of Kingston, and it is published, not so 
much for its incidents, as for the confirmation which 
it affords of the leading facts to which reference has 
been made in the preceding pages. It is the testimo- 
ny of a witness and an actor in the scene. Mr. Hurl- 
but was a man for the times, of more than usual ed- 
ucation — a good mathematician, and a practical sur- 
veyor. His plots of large tracts of lands surveyed By 
him in the county of Luzerne are acknowledged data. 
His field-books, plots, bearings and distances, are all 
executed with great skill and accuracy. 

" Blood hath been shed, ere now, i' th' olden time, 
Ere human statute purged the gentle weale : 
Aye, and since too, murthers have been performed 
Too terrible for the eare." — Shakspeare — Macbeth. 

"REMEMBRANCE OF WYOMING WARS. 

" First, of the Indian War. — In the year 1777, the 
Indians and Tories up the river went with the British 
army to besiege Fort Stanwix, and, failing in their ob- 
ject, they returned home in the fall of the year. Late 
in the fall, Colonel Denison went up the river with a 
considerable body of men, and took several Tories, 
and wounded an Indian that attempted to run away 
from them. The same fall the Indians took York and 
Kingsley prisoners from Wyallusing, and carried them 
to Canada. 



•±06 WYOMING. 

" Early in the spring, Colonel Denison, with about 
one hundred and fifty men, went up to Wyalusing to 
assist a number of families in removing from the place.- 
I was in the company. We made rafts of old houses, 
and took on the people, with their effects, and went 
down the river. This spring a company was raised 
to garrison Forty Fort and to scout. Some time this 
spring three Indians came to Forty Fort, doubtless as 
spies. They were put in prison. The last of June I 
went out to Lackawaxen to meet my father's family, 
who were moving into the country, and was there un- 
til the result of the battle was known. 

" On Tuesday, the last day of June, the Indian army 
was discovered. On Wednesday the settlers collected 
the men and went up to Sutton's Mills, where they 
found that the people had been killed and the houses 
burned.* It appeared that the Indian army had gone 
into the woods, and proceeded over the mountain to 
Kingston, and by that means the two armies did not 
meet there. On the same day the Indian army took 
Jenkins's and Wintermoot's Forts. f The alarm was 
given, and the men assembled at Forty Fort. 

"The next morning — the 3d of July — and toward 
night, they joined battle with the Indians, and were 

* This was the place where the Hardings were killed, and Gardner 
made a prisoner. 

t According to Mr. Gardner, Jenkins's Fort could not have been 
taken on that day. He says it was the day after the battle that the 
fort in which he was — the one opposite Pittston, which was Fort Jen- 
kins — was entered by the Indians. Mr. Hurlbut was not on the 
ground, and might be mistaken. Mr. Gardner was in the fort, and 
must know whether it was surrendered before the battle or afterward. 
The theory which we have adopted elsewhere is, that the agreement 
to surrender the fort was entered into two days before it was actually 
entered by the enemy; but this was not on the last day of June, but 
on the 2d of July. 



JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HUBLBUT. 407 

entirely defeated; only sixty escaped out of the battle. 
The next day was spent in negotiating a capitulation, 
and on Sabbath the fort was surrendered, when an in- 
discriminate plunder took place, and nearly all the 
buildings in the settlement were burned. The people 
escaped, none being killed excepting two, Mrs. Leech 
and St. John. 

11 The beginning of August, Colonel Butler, with 
Spaulding's company of the Wyoming soldiers, and a 
few of the settlers, returned and took possession of the 
place, and built a fort at Wilkesbarre, driving off what 
few Indians were there. Shortly after the Indians kill- 
ed John Abbott, and some others, above Wilkesbarre. 

"In September, 1778, Colonel Hartley went, with 
two or three hundred men, by the West Branch, over 
to Towanda and to Sheshequin, and collected a con- 
siderable number of cattle, and drove them down the 
river. When he had got below Black Walnut Bottom, 
he was fired upon by the Indians, and at Tuscarora 
Creek a considerable action took place : some few were 
killed on both sides. The next day after they arrived 
at Wilkesbarre, the Indians killed two or three of his 
soldiers at the lower end of Kingston Flats. 

"In the fall the Indians took Swetland and Blanch- 
ard at the Nanticoke mill, and burned the mill. Ear- 
ly in November the Indians killed Jackson, Lester, 
and Franklin, and wounded Hagaman ; they took pris- 
oners Pell and Lester's wife and daughter — a little girl 
— from Nanticoke, in December. Tripp, Slocum, and 
Kingsley's son were killed in Wilkesbarre, not far from 
the fort, and a little girl carried off prisoner in Febru- 
ary, 1779. Buck, Williams, and Pettibone were kill- 
ed, and Follett scalped on Kingston Flats, and an In- 
dian was killed in an attack on the block-house. On 



408 WYOMING. 

the 20th of March Bidlack was taken, the block-house 
attacked, and all the cattle and horses on that side of 
the river driven off by a large party of British, In- 
dians, and Tories. On the 22d Wilkesbarre was attack- 
ed, as also Stewart's house, and all the cattle that were 
out on that side driven off; and all the remaining 
buildings on both sides of the river that were not 
near the fort, or Stewart's house or block-house, were 
burned. 

" Shortly after the attack on Wilkesbarre, a consid- 
erable body of troops — the advance of General Sulli- 
van's army — arrived at Wilkesbarre, and early in April 
another detachment coming in, two officers and five 
soldiers, that were in advance of the main body, were 
killed at or near Laurel Eun, in the mountain. Some 
time that summer, Sherwood, at Huntington, was 
wounded by the Indians while hunting, but escaped. 

" Sullivan's army penetrated the Indian country as 
far as Genesee River, and in October returned to 
Wilkesbarre, and so back to join the main army, leav- 
ing a garrison in Wilkesbarre. 

"After Sulli van's expedition my father's family 
moved into the country, and went on to his farm in 
Hanover. The settlers were now getting on to their 
farms, in expectation of not being farther troubled by 
the Indians. 

" The last of March, Hammond, Bennet, and son 
went to plow on Kingston Flats, above Forty Fort, 
and were taken by the Indians. Near the same time, 
Upson was killed and Jonah Rogers taken prisoner 
below Nanticoke Falls. Another party of Indians 
took Yan Campen, Pence, and a boy, and killed sev- 
eral on Fishing Creek. On Harvey's Creek they took 
Pike, but dismissed his wife. The same week Ham- 



JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBt'T. 409 

mond and Bennet rose on the Indians, and escaped 
and came in. Three or four days after Yan Campen 
and company came in, having killed the Indians who 
took them prisoners. 

" After this no Indians appeared about Wyoming 
until December, when twenty British soldiers and five 
Indians came into Plymouth in the evening, and took 
all the families which were there prisoners. Selecting 
some men, that they carried off, they dismissed the 
women and children. The last of March, 1781, a num- 
ber of families had begun to build houses, intending 
also to build a fort on Shawnee Flats, where they 
were attacked in the night by the Indians. Bansom 
was wounded; one Indian was killed, and the rest 
fled. In September the Indians took Franklin's boys, 
with five horses, and burned all the grain — perhaps 
twelve hundred bushels of wheat and rye — on Nanti- 
coke Flats. 

"In 1782 some men began a saw-mill in Hanover. 
They raised the mill on Saturday, in April. The next 
morning Franklin's family were taken prisoners, and 
his house burned. Baldwin, with nine others, went 
up the river and got ahead of the Indians, and on the 
Frenchtown Mountain they had a severe engagement 
of six or seven hours. Bennet was wounded, also 
Baldwin himself, but none were killed. They retook 
three of the family, the woman and a small child be- 
ing killed. In July Jamison and Chapman were kill- 
ed in the road in Hanover, near where the meeting- 
house was afterward built. Peace took place the win- 
ter following. The next spring, in 1783, Baldwin and 
Garnsey were carried off by the Indians from near 
Black "Walnut Bottom, but no other mischief was done 
by the Indians, as they were sent to take a prisoner 

S 



410 WYOMING. 

by whom they might ascertain whether peace was re- 
ally made, as they had only heard a rumor of it at 
Niagara. They were dismissed soon after their arri- 
val." 

THE PENNAMITE WAR. 

"In December, 1782, the Decree of Trenton was 
passed, adjudging the right of jurisdiction and pre- 
emption to Pennsylvania. The next spring peace 
took place between England and the United States, 
and the garrison was removed from Wilkesbarre, and 
a company of Pennsylvania state troops took posses- 
sion of the fort. What pretense there was for contin- 
uing the garrison after peace, I know not. All was 
peace that summer, and numbers of people moved in 
from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, mostly persons 
of no property or respectability. Toward fall it ap- 
peared that a number of Pennsylvanians met secretly 
in the settlement and proceeded to elect justices of the 
peace ; and in September the Assembly of Pennsyl- 
vania passed a law authorizing the President and 
Council to commission those persons so unlawfully 
elected ; and they soon began to execute the laws by 
suing every Yankee that they could by any means 
bring a charge against, and very soon the most violent 
proceedings took place. Men were imprisoned by the 
aid of the military, and sundry persons whipped with 
gun-rods, and otherwise most shamefully abused. A 
number of respectable men were confined in an old 
house without a floor, and mud shoe deep. In cold 
weather in the winter they were obliged to lie down 
in the mud on pain of being shot. If three Yankees 
were seen together, they were sure to be imprisoned 
and otherwise abused. 



JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT. 411 

" At last, as our situation was no longer to be borne, 
a number of us determined to draw up a petition to 
the Legislature, then in session, stating our usage, and 
begging for protection. As not more than two of us 
dare be seen together, the difficulty was to confer to- 
gether. Our object was effected by going around and 
notifying a meeting in the evening ; and, in order to 
prevent suspicion, the meeting was appointed within 
forty rods of the fort, where a number got together and 
darkened the windows, and then drew and signed a 
petition, and engaged a man to carry it to Philadelphia. 
Upon the receipt of this petition, the Assembly ap- 
pointed a committee to repair to Wyoming and inquire 
into the cause of the complaint. The committee came 
to "Wilkesbarre, and by testimony we established all 
that we set forth in our petition, and much more. The 
committee returned and reported, but nothing was 
done to afford us redress. 

"In March was 'the great ice-flood,' which nearly 
ruined the people, drowning their cattle and horses, 
and sweeping away their houses, as they were nearly 
all built on the flats for safety against the Indians. 
Most of their breadstuff's was also destroyed. In May, 
after the ice had melted away, and the people begun 
to put up their fences, the Pennamites, with the sol- 
diers, went through the settlement in considerable 
bodies, and took all the good guns, and the locks from 
others, from every Yankee who had one, and direct- 
ly after this they turned all Yankee families into the 
street, taking them under guard. A few only were 
able to flee up or down the river; all the rest were 
forced to go out east by the Lackawaxen. Thus the 
Pennamites got full possession of the country. Short- 
ly after this the soldiers were discharged, but many of 



•112 WYOMING. 

thein continued in the country, and the Pennamites 
kept up a garrison in the fort. 

" The last of June the Yankees began to assemble in 
the woods, in order, if possible, to regain their posses- 
sions. It should be remembered that all along, from 
the first beginning of the outrages, applications had 
been made to the legislative, executive, and judicial 
authorities of the state for protection and redress, but 
none was obtained. Also let it be understood that 
those pretended justices before referred to as having 
been unlawfully appointed, headed by Alexander Pat- 
terson, a man of considerable abilities, but bold, dar- 
ing, and completely unprincipled; aided by D 

M , insinuating, plausible, and flattering, covering 

his enmity by pretended friendship — a most designing- 
enemy to the Yankees; and J S , with just 

information enough to act out the villain without dis- 
guise, had no idea of doing justice to the Yankees, but 
their object was to compel them to leave the country. 

" About the loth of July, a party of Pennamites and 
another of Yankees, both armed, met in a piece of woods 
in Plymouth unexpectedly to both parties. They fired 
on each other ; two were killed, and several wounded ; 
the Pennamites fled, and were pursued to the fort ; the 
fort was immediately invested, and hostilities were 
continued for several days. When information was 
received that a party of men was coming in to relieve 
the besieged Pennamites, twenty -seven Yankees went 
out and met the party at Locust Hill. They fired 
upon them, and they retreated to a house, and, as they 
appeared sufficiently frightened, the Yankees left them 
and returned. The party then left the house and fled 
back. They had one killed and several wounded. Of 
the Yankees, only one slightly wounded. 



JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT. 413 

" In the mean time, several justices and the sheriff 
of Northumberland County came to Wilkesbarre to 
try to put a stop to the fighting. After considerable 
negotiation, both parties agreed to stop. The Penna- 
mites remained in the fort, and the Yankees returned 
to their deserted homes. In two or three days a body 
of two or three hundred men came in, headed by the 
famous John Armstrong and a Mr. Boyd, two mem- 
bers of the Senate of Pennsylvania. The Pennamites, 
in part, pretended to surrender, when they called on 
the Yankees to surrender, as they said they were de- 
termined to disarm both parties, so that there should 
be no farther resort to violence, but an acknowledg- 
ment of the supremacy of the laws. When the Yan- 
kees laid down their arms they were made close pris- 
oners, and Pennamite sentinels set to guard them. 
Those who were at Locust Hill were sent, under a 
strong guard, being first ironed, to Easton jail, the 
others to Sunbury ; those who went to Sunbury were 
speedily admitted to bail, and returned home ; those 
at Easton were kept close prisoners five or six weeks, 
when they broke jail, and about half of them escaped ; 
the remainder were kept until October, when the Su- 
preme Court was held at Easton; then the grand jury 
found no bill against them for murder, and they were 
discharged, after paying jail fees and other expenses 
to the amount of twenty-five dollars each. 

"In the mean time, those who had escaped, with a 
few others — about twenty — headed by John Franklin, 
had obtained arms, and kept together until about the 
18th of October, when a body of men came into the 
settlement and proceeded to make prisoners of such as 
they chose. They had taken seventeen and confined 
them in a corn-house, which they kept well guarded : 



41-i WYOMING. 

but they failed to take Franklin and his party, who 
continually gained in numbers until after the company 
returned home. After this the Yankees attacked the 
fort in the night, and killed two officers. Shortly after 
the fort was evacuated, and all the Pennamites who 
had been fighting the Yankees were obliged to leave 
the settlement. 

" When they got out into the country they made a 
loud outcry about the cruelty of the Yankees, and as 
to how they were plundered of all they possessed, 
and by this means prevailed with a number of the in- 
habitants of Northumberland County to petition the 
Legislature in their behalf. The Legislature then ap- 
pointed three of their number to go to Wyoming and 
endeavor to put a stop to farther disorders. In the 
beginning of May they came in, and, after conferring 
with the Yankees, returned. Nothing was done ef- 
fectually until the fall of 1786, when a law was passed 
erecting the disputed territory into a county, which 
was called Luzerne. A time was appointed for hold- 
ing an election for county officers, with justices of the 
peace. The election was held in July, 1787, and from 
that time law reigned and peace was fully restored." 



THE UMBRELLA-TREK. 417 



XXII. 
MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 

THE CMBRELLA-TREE.* 

The umbrella, round-top, or signal-tree, is situated on the mount- 
ain west, of the Valley, about four miles from its head. It is of th<> 
variety Pimis rigida, or pitch pine ; is about ninety feet high, and tw< 
and a half feet in diameter at the base. It is apparently, at ■ dis- 
tance, on the summit of the mountain, and surrounded by woods ; but 
it is about forty rods from the apex, and stands in the centre of a ten- 
acre field, on the estate formerly owned by Mr. Pierce Smith, now 
by the Kingston Coal Company. 

My imagination had pictured the tree to be something immense, 
and, from the misconception, I was somewhat disappointed, as it is n< t 
as large as one would be led naturally to suppose, judging of its ap- 
pearance at a distance, its longevity, etc. ; but it is more remarkable 
for eonspicuity of position than for size or height. 

Many are the traditions in regard to this old stand-by, and per- 
haps nothing in our early history is more vague and unsatisfactory 
than the reports in circulation concerning it. Its eonspicuity from 
the east and northeast made it a landmark through the unbroken 
wilderness to this land of promise, and we can hardly imagine the 
joy that its prospect lent, when at its sight the weary traveler con- 
sidered himself almost home. It is said that its lower branches were 
clipped or heAvn off", to render it more observable at a greater dis- 
tance ; and one tradition, or rather a more late fiction, says that they 
were cut off as a signal of battle, and ominous of the dire fall of our 
little army. 

* Here is a group of interesting objects. " Tuttle's Creek" passes through the 
culvert which appears on the right of the foreground. The house partly cou- 
cealed by the shade of the trees is the veritable house erected and long occupied by 
Colonel Denison, now occupied by his grandson, Hiram Denison, Esq. L:i 
son— 185T— it exchanged its original red covering for a new white one, and, but l 5>r 
its antique form and large chimney, would now exhibit quite a modern appearand'. 
The house on the left was the residence of the late Mrs. Tuttle, only sifter of Mr-. 
Myers. This is the spot where stood the four block -houses from which M the Van- ' 
kee Boys" fired the last shot at the Pennamites and killed Captain Bolen. The 
road which crosses the Creek here is the old road on which the little army marched 
to attack the Tories and Indians. The umbrella-tree is seen in the distance, upon 
the mountain's height. 

S2 



418 WYOMING. 

We think that any other view than that it is just as God made it 
would rob him of some of his due glory, and detract from it much 
real beauty, as being remarkable from nature rather than art. This 
view is substantiated by almost every physical sign, and the fact that, 
upon close inspection, it bears no appearance of having had its 
branches cut off. It has some dead limbs, which show no sudden 
fracture, as would be the case if they had been hewn off, but, on the 
contrary, extend several feet from the shaft ; and, besides, it has sev- 
eral large limbs, unperceivable at a distance, about half way up. Im- 
mediately under the top there is a space of ten or fifteen feet looking 
quite smooth, showing no abrasion of knife or hack of hatchet. Its 
top is rather small for the shaft to be compared to an umbrella, and 
looks more like a delicate parasol put on a large umbrella handle. 
It is the only tree in a large field, and, although the woodman has 
cut down all around it, he has paused with a praiseworthy venera- 
tion to humble its proud crest in the dust. There it stands nearly as 
it was a hundred years ago; there it stands erect as God made it; 
there let it stand till He, in his wisdom, sees fit to fell it. We re- 
luctantly turned our back upon this old pine, and left it " alone in 
its glory." - * * * 



PROSrECT ROCK 

is situated on the eastern mountain, directly back of Wilkesbarre, 
and about midway between the two extremes of the valley. From 
its prominent position may be distinctly seen both sections of the val- 
ley, above and below. It is a steep ledge of light conglomerate, com- 
posed of strata four or five feet thick, resting at about an angle of 
forty-five degrees in position. Its eastern verge is quite precipitous, 
showing an abrupt fracture from the plane of the strata below, which 
was caused in its upheaving to its present position. The western 
surface is convex, and more continuous with the slope of the mount- 
ain. A few small pines stand upon it here and there, and dip their 
roots into its crevices, deriving their nourishment from an almost im- 
perceptible and inconceivable source. The upper section of the val- 
ley of Wyoming appears to be an extended plain ; the lower a series 
of hills, undulating up higher and higher until they reach the Nan- 
ticoke Mountains. Above, it seems continuous with the Lackawanna 
Valley, and the gray front of Crag Campbell marks the entrance of 
the Susquehanna ; below the mountains curve gracefully as the bow 
in the clouds for the egress of the river. 

To get a proper appreciation of the view from this rock, you should 



PROSPECT ROCK. 419 

spend a night at one of the hotels a short distance below, arise with 
the sun, with the mental energies fresh jind unimpaired with the toils 
of ascent. It was in the month of July that I made my visit, and all 
nature was dressed in her most varied and pleasing garb. Spread 
out beneath were the fields of every shade of green and of gold. 
There were the shock-dotted fields, where the farmer had been gath- 
ering together into convenient heaps his means of subsistence and 
profit ; fields of still waving grain, interspersed with meads of fresh- 
springing grass from newly-mown hay-fields. Black lines mark (he 
course offences dividing possessions and fields, showing a beautiful 
simile to the checkered scenes of life, where every man is moving for 
his own advantage. Immediately beneath is the borough of Wilkes- 
barre, with its small houses and tiny spires, as though contrived for 
the habitation of Liliputians. Directly across from it is the village 
of Kingston, below which are the scattered houses of Plymouth, and 
above, toward the head of the valley, is the village of Wyoming, still 
more diminutive in the distance. Here and there are scattered 
throughout the country habitations and public works, showing the 
insignificance of puny art in such a vast area of beauteous nature. 
"Oh, pigmy man, how small thy workings are ! Thy boasted rule 
has not the power to even mock at heaven, for who could mountains 
make, or paint a scene like this?" These are naturally the feelings 
of an observer and student of nature when impressed with the power 
of the magnificent and sublime ; he pauses in a reverie of inexpress- 
ible delight, and is forced to admit the inability of language to con- 
vey his thoughts to others. This rock has the advantages of position 
in presenting to the view nearly all parts of the valley, neither ren- 
dering it dim by too great distance, nor unpicturesque by being too 
near. A large area is here placed before the vision, concentrated 
into one grand conception, subject to one contemplation. In the 
west are the horizon, scalloping hills, giving glimpses here and there 
between them of the country beyond. The Susquehanna is occasion- 
ally visible, and the three islands here seen seem like "Arks of na- 
ture's make floating on to join the sea." 

There is another view from what is called the White Rocks, but a 
short distance ascending to the right from the Spring House, which 
has advantages in rendering some parts of the valley still more per- 
spicuous than Prospect Rock does, on account of their more jutting 
position. 

Time had been "winging us away" faster than we were aware or 
wished. The sun had already dipped his lower verge below the 
western mountains, giving their tree-clad summits an appearance ai 




£J II IN 



HARVEY'S LAKE. 4^ 1 

if fringed with fire. As our little giddy world wheeled eastward, 
leaving the king of day gradually sinking from the horizon, he seem- 
ed to kiss the western hills with his ruddy lips, and, bidding us good- 
night, sank in a sea of glory. * * * 



HARVEY'S LAKE. 

The following sketch of a trip to Harvey's Lake is contributed by 
Miss Miranda Myers, of Kingston : 

Bright and early, long before the purple hill-tops environing Wyo- 
ming were illuminated by the rising sun, we presented ounell 
the gateway, ready for a drive to this romantic summer retreat some 
twelve miles distant. 

Passing the wild scenery of the Narrows, and through a beauti- 
ful rural district, we inquired, for perhaps the dozenth time during 
our ride, How far off is Harvey's Lake? An honest-faced Hiberni- 
an answered, " Shure and you are right on it ; and you have only to 
drive a bit ahead and turn into the lane, and you'll get there." 
Thanking him, w r e prepared to follow the direction, if it only brought 
us to our destination. We soon had the extreme satisfaction of see- 
ing the Lake House, with its fair proportions, loom up before us. 
As we drove up, the accommodating proprietor, Mr. Clayton, met us 
at the door, ready to attend to all our wants. 

The house is built upon a slight elevation on the eastern shore, a 
few rods from the water's edge. It is large and commodious, 
handsomely furnished, and capable of accommodating a large number 
of guests. From the verandas, which extend around two sides of 
the house, a magnificent prospect feasts the eye — a scene of unrivaled 
and quiet beauty — the calm and unruffled surface of the lake spark- 
ling in the sunshine, begirt with beautiful hilly woodlands. These 
afford covert for herds of deer and other wild game, while the lake 
furnishes an abundance of the finest fish. Harvey's Lake has been 
resorted to for hunting and fishing ever since the first settlement of 
the country, long before there was a road cut through the mountain-, 
the old hunters tracing their way through the dense forests by 
means of marked trees. It is said that the lake was discovered by 
one of the early settlers of the Valley noticing that the wild ducks flew 
very high, and in a northerly direction, from which fact he concluded 
that there must be quite a large body of water not far distant.* 

* The lake derived its name from Benjamin Harvey, who settled upon the out- 
let below Plymouth, and it is supposed by his descendants that he was the first 
white man who discovered it, The descendants of Thomas Bennet suppose that 



422 ' WYOMING. 

Below us, in front of the house, a wagon-road winds along the 
shore, and is soon lost from sight among the trees. Looking across 
the lake toward the west, we observe a small clearing with several 
dwelling-houses ; one is pointed out to us as the property of Hon. 
Warren J. Woodward. Casting our eyes down along the shore in 
the direction of the outlet, through a gap in the hills we behold the 
faint outlines of distant mountains against the sky, in fine contrast 
with those nearer by. 

At our left is the inlet, though, properly speaking, the lake has 
none, being fed by springs at the bottom. A rude, unfinished 
bridge crosses the inlet. This can be used only by foot-passengers, as 
it is sunken considerably near the centre. 

Having finished our observations from the house, we betake our- 
selves to the boat, a number being always in readiness. The white, 
pebbly bottom of the lake is distinctly visible for quite a distance 
from the shore ; but as we near the centre it gradually disappears, 
the water becoming very deep, and assuming a look of inky black- 
ness. We were told that a line ninety feet in length had been sunk 
here without reaching bottom. 

We were recalled from our aquatic expedition to the house by the 
sounding of the gong. Here we found an elegant dinner awaiting 
us — fish, flesh, and fowl, served up in every possible style, with veg- 
etables, tarts, puddings, pastry, etc., in profusion, calculated to please 
even the most epicurean palate. Dinner over, w r e again sallied forth 
in quest of enjoyment. 

Noticing upon one of the pillars of the lower veranda a diagram 
of the lake, with the distances along the margins given, we made in- 
quiries of Mr. Clayton, and learned that some scientific gentleman, 

he is entitled to the honor of the discovery of this lake, and that he was led to the 
search for it by the flight of flocks of wild ducks. It is quite probable that these 
hardy pioneers each made the discovery in the same way, one reaching it from 
the lower extremity of the Valley, and the other from Forty Fort. It is certain 
that Mr. Bennet cut through the first bridle-path from Kingston to the lake, as 
that path is noted on the field-books of the earliest surveyors, and is called "Ben- 
net's Path." Andrew Bennet, son of Thomas Bennet, launched the first canoe 
upon the placid waters of this lake in the year 1800. John Bennet, Esq., son of 
Andrew Bennet, says that the canoe was made in the Valley, and shod with hick- 
ory saplings, and drawn over the mountain by two horses attached to it tandem, 
and that he, then a lad, rode the leader, and that his father led the way on foot, 
and that another man followed and kept the " dug-out" right side up. They ar- 
rived sufficiently early in the day to launch their craft, and steal upon a fine buck 
standing in the edge of the lake, and shoot him down. The canoe was kept con- 
cealed at the head of the lake in a thicket of laurels. The lady traveler who con- 
tributed thi9 article is the great-granddaughter of Thoraa9 Bennet. 




TOBY S EDDY. 




tort's oavk. 



TOBY S ED1»V. 1" j 

whose name we have forgotten, made an actual survey for the In 
efit of visitors. We give it as it appears their. 

Lovely as the lake is in the rich glow of the morning fanlight, 
its romantic beauty is by no means diminished when bathed in the 
glorious coloring of the afternoon sun. The rippling current BashM 
and sparkles, the wild duck skims gayly over its surface, regardless 
of the lurking sportsman, and the splashing oars of the pleasure-boat 
keep time to the harmony of nature ; every tree growing upon the 
margin of the lake has its counterpart slumbering motionless be- 
neath the water. But we must turn our backs upon this scene of be- 
witching loveliness, for the lengthening shadows warn us that the son 
is sinking in the heavens, and we have yet twelve miles between us 
and our valley-home. 

Persons visiting Wyoming should not fail to take a drive to the 
lake ; we are certain they would be amply rewarded. Indeed, we 
see no reason why Harvey's Lake may not become as fashionable a 
resort during the summer as the more crowded watering-places, ac- 
cessible as it is from our cities, within twelve miles by railroad, and 
affording every facility for enjoyment. 



toby's eddy. 

This famous locality is situated at the mouth of Toby's Creek, 
near Kingston village. The beautiful scenery copied in the opposite 
engraving lies between Ross Hill and the river, and is one of those 
lovely, secluded spots where one delights to spend an hour or two in 
retirement from the busy world. Here the students of the seminary 
hard by often meet to shake off the blues and recruit their exhausted 
energies. Here they bathe, walk, swing, and exchange pleasant 
greetings. Here many a pleasant picnic has been held, and glances 
have been exchanged full of meaning, and ominous of happy days at 
new homes. 

But, alas ! progress and civilization have made sad ravages upon 
this sweet and beautiful spot. The railroad has utterly ruined its 
beautiful unity. Its jagged, rocky embankment, running through 
the centre of the little natural paradise, has broken its ancient en- 
chantments, and dispelled the bewitching associations which clustered 
around it. So goes this world of ours. What God made is perpet- 
ually changed, if not improved, by the inroads of art and the spirit 
of the age. 



426 WYOMING. 

toby's cave. 

What is called Toby's Cave is found in the hill-side west of the 
Eddy. It is not deep or large, but might once have constituted a 
place of retreat for old Toby the Indian, whose haunts were once 
along the creek to which his name has been given, and who planted 
corn upon the flats above. It is said by some of the old talkers 
that this cave once extended quite to the opposite side of Eoss Hill, 
the distance of three fourths of a mile. Curious legends of strange 
supernatural appearances in this cave are told by an old gossip still 
living, all of which may be doubted without just exposure to the 
charge of unwarrantable skepticism. Stories of strange sights and 
superhuman noises, which used to be told about Toby's Cave by super- 
annuated nurses, and believed without a doubt by children, are not 
worth repeating ; still, they have left their impression, and they con- 
tinue to cling to the locality with which they were originally asso- 
ciated. Legends, however incredible, often constitute classic ground, 
and give a sort of importance to objects and localities which other- 
wise have little about them to render them noticeable. There are in 
the world many such objects, and among them is Toby's Cave. 



SEMINARIES. 

The great changes which have taken place in Wyoming are remark- 
ed in nothing more clearly than in the means and appliances of edu- 
cation which constitute both its power and its pride. We give brief 
sketches of the origin, progress, and present condition of the three 
leading institutions of the Valley, arranging them in chronological 
order. 

THE W r YOMING- CONFERENCE SEMINARY. 

This is a school for both sexes, and was opened September 24, 
1844. The opening address was delivered by the Rev. J. P. Dur- 
bin, D.D. The first seminary building was of brick, thirty-seven 
feet by seventy feet, and three stories high. The cost of the building 
and fixtures, $6089, of which about one fourth was contributed by 
Thomas Myers, Esq., of Kingston. The building for the accommo- 
dation of the ladies and for a boarding-hall was erected by Mr. My- 
ers, and subsequently sold to the trustees. 

The school opened with thirty scholars, and the whole number in 
attendance the first term was forty-seven. 

There were three teachers : Rev. R. Nelson. A.M., Miss Ruth In- 



SEMTX ARIES. 42 7 

galls, and Mr. E. F. Ferris. The patronage continued to increase for 
every succeeding term until there arose a pressing necessity for an 
additional building. In the winter of 1850-51, while the trustees, 
without funds, were deliberating upon the subject, and vainly endeav- 
oring to devise a plan for enlarging the buildings, they were happily 
relieved from their embarrassment by the noble and generous prop- 
osition of one of their number, William Swetland, Esq., to defray 
himself all the expense of the erection of such a building as the trus- 
tees should deem necessary to meet the wants of the school. Accord- 
ingly, a building was erected and finished in the fall of 1851, at a 
cost of between three and four thousand dollars, and named " Swet- 
land Hall." 

At the same time, Hon. Ziba Bennet, of Wilkesbarre, donated to 
the institution $1000, to be expended in the purchase of a li- 
brary, which was appropriately named by the trustees "Bennet Li- 
brary." 

"Within six months from the completion of "Swetland Hall," all 
the rooms in the whole establishment were occupied, and the trustees 
began to arrange for putting up an additional building. They had 
contracted for its erection, and excavating for the foundation had al- 
ready been commenced, when, on the 15th of March, 1853, the build- 
ings were entirely destroyed by fire, supposed to have originated from 
a stove in the third story. 

While the ruins were yet smoking, the trustees were stimulated to 
an immediate effort to rebuild by the remarkable liberality of Will- 
iam Swetland, Esq., already referred to, who, together with his son, 
Mr. George Swetland, and his son-in-law, Payne Pettibone, Esq., 
donated to the institution in all something over $8000. They were 
also greatly aided by the liberal donations of $1000 by Isaac C. 
Shoemaker, Esq., of Wyoming, $500 by Hon. Urbane Burrows, of 
Gibson, and $500 by Amos Y. Smith, of Wyoming. The above, 
with other contributions, enabled the trustees to erect four buildings, 
three of them being of brick. 

The entire value of the whole establishment now can not be esti- 
mated at less than $30,000. 

The institution has an experienced and efficient board of teachers, 
a superior philosophical and chemical apparatus, an extensive library, 
and a valuable cabinet. The Rev. R. Nelson still presides over the 
institution with great ability and success. 

The catalogue just issued shows an attendance of G76 students dur- 
ing the year. The success of this institution is without a parallel in 
the state. 



r 

428 WYOMING. 



LUZERNE PRESBYTERIAL INSTITUTE. 

This institution is located in one of the pleasantest portions of the 
Valley, in the village of Wyoming. Rev. Thomas P. Hunt, so wide- 
ly known for his able advocacy of the cause of temperance and relig- 
ion, first suggested and labored for the establishment of a literary in- 
stitution at this place, and has ever been most earnestly devoted to 
its interests with time and means. Not less indispensable have 
been, from the first and always, the abundant services and liberal 
benefactions of Mr. Thomas R. Atherton, or the efforts and coun- 
sels in its behalf of Rev. J. D. Mitchell, its first principal and al- 
ways firm friend and supporter, as well as those of others, its early 
and constant, or more recent friends, among whom are the entire 
board of trustees as at present constituted, consisting of Rev. T. P. 
Hunt, Rev. N. G. Parke, H. Hice, T. F. Atherton, Hon. C. D. Shoe- 
maker, Rev. H. H. Welles, Rev. C. R. Lane, W. S. Shoemaker, Hon. 
Steuben Jenkins, Theodore Strong, E. A. Lawrence, and Joseph P. 
Atherton, with Rev. J. Dorrance and James Jenkins, former mem- 
bers. 

The great aim of the institution is to furnish facilities for a sound 
Christian education of youth. It is not sectarian in its teachings, 
but Christian, and invites to the enjoyment of its privileges youth 
from all denominations alike. Instruction is given in all the English 
branches, sciences, mathematics, languages, and ornamental branch- 
es common to our higher seminaries, preparatory for college, for 
teaching, or for the active duties of business and social life. It has a 
male and a female department, a normal department at some sea- 
sons of the year, also philosophical and chemical apparatus, and geo- 
graphical, astronomical, and anatomical maps and charts. The in- 
stitute building is out of debt, and will be enlarged as soon as the 
state of the times will permit. There is a good boarding-house ; 
students also board in private families, while lads and others, as de- 
sired by parents, board with the principal. 

Classes were first formed in 1819. An act of incorporation was 
obtained the following year. 

Rev. Reuben Lowrie, now a missionary in China, Rev. C. R. Lane, 
now of Tunkhannock, and Rev. P. E. Stevenson, acted as principals 
of the institution in succession. E. A. Lawrence, A.M., extensively 
known and approved as a highly accomplished teacher, is now prin- 
cipal,. and, although the pressure of the times has unfavorably affect- 
ed the attendance, as in many other institutions, the condition of the 
institute is encouraging and promising. Several of its students are 



SEMINARIES. 42!» 

preparing for the ministry, while others of them arc already pro- 
claiming the Gospel to a dying world. 

THE WILKESBARRE FEMALE INSTITUTE. 

A number of gentlemen, citizens of the borough of Wilkesbanv, 
deeply sensible of the importance of a thorough and Christian educa- 
tion for their daughters, and believing that the female character re- 
quires a system of instruction and discipline differing somewhat from 
that adopted in reference to the other sex, after consultation, determ- 
ined upon the establishment of a female seminary of a high order — 
one which should preclude the necessity of seeking beyond their own 
bontfmgh the facilities for a finished education. 

Accordingly, a subscription for the erection of a suitable building 
was opened, and some ten or twelve thousand dollars raised. The 
subscriptions, several of which are very liberal, were principally from 
members of the Presbyterian congregation. Of the whole sum, near- 
ly one half (including recent donations) is the contribution of George 
M. Hollenback. 

A charter for the contemplated institution was obtained in the 
summer of 1854, during which year the seminar}' edifice was com- 
pleted. This is a neat and commodious building, three stories in 
height, with suitable school and recitation rooms, lofty and well ven- 
tilated. There is also good accommodation in furnished rooms for 
some forty or fifty boarders under the same roof with the family of 
the principal ; the grounds are ample ; and the site, fronting the Sus- 
quehanna, with an open common intervening, is one of unusual 
beauty. 

The school was opened in October, 1854, with some fifty young 
ladies, under the charge of Rev. Joseph Eastburn Nassau, since which 
time, though subject to temporary fluctuation, it has made encour- 
aging progress. Quite a number of young ladies have completed the 
prescribed course of study, which is equally extensive and thorough 
with that of our best seminaries, with honor to themselves and the 
institution. 

The average number of pupils in actual attendance is now about 
seventy, and is steadily increasing. The principal, R. S. Howes, 
A.M., who has had a successful experience of sixteen years at the 
head of select and high schools, proves to be well fitted for his posi- 
tion, and gives to the trustees and patrons of the institution entire 
satisfaction. 

The institute is, by its charter, under the supervision of the 
presbytery of Luzerne, by which body the trustees are appointed. 



430 WYOMING. 

The object of this supervision is not the inculcating of sectarian te- 
nets, nor to render the institution an organ of proselytism, but to se- 
cure an enlightened, homogeneous, and salutary religious influence, 
with the hope that our daughters, while subjected to thorough men- 
tal discipline, will also be adorned with those Christian graces winch 
are the highest and loveliest accomplishment of the female character. 



INDEX. 



Alexander, Mrs., her account of her father's death and mother's escape, 111 ; 

character of her mother, 120; aeoounl of Mrs. Gardner, 868. 
Armstrong, Colonel, comes on under authority of Pennsyl TSDh grow bencher Jf , 

64, 217, 413. 
Bedford, Mrs., character and parentage of, 901 ; her account of the Indiana, 
of a mission to Queen Esther, 202 ; a war demonstration, 208 : the battle, 204 ; 
of the flight to Middletown, 2u:t ; return, SlOj Franklin family, Hi ; keep! 
house at Forty Fort, 218. 
Bennet, Thomas, captivity and escape of, 291. 
14 Rufus, wonderful escape of, 302. 
" Solomon, escape of, 160. 
Bolin, Captain, killed. 184 
Bones of the patriots, 3T7. 
Brant, history of, 71 ; at Unadilla, 73 ; at Oriskany, 74 ; ravages on the Mohau k, 

78, S4 ; not in the battle of Wyoming, 87 ; cruelty of, 84 
Brockway's, Widow, a fight there, 183. 
Butler, Colonel Zebulon, commands at the battle, 3S ; report of, 4 '. 

u ColonelJohn, invades Wyoming, 38 ; faithless conduct, 45 ; report of the 
battle, 52 ; character of, 96. 
Butler, Walter X., destroys Cherry Valley, SO ; Colonel Stone's apology for, 86; 

cruelties of, 82 ; death, S5. 
Campbell's Ledge, 10, 344. 
(berry Valley destroyed, 81. 
Connecticut people, object of, 26. 
Corey, young, tortured, 214. 
Decree of Trenton, 63. 
Delaware Indians, war, 11, 12. 
Denison, Colonel, came from Hartford, 147; in the battle, 39 ; remonstrates with 

J. Butler, 162 ; robbed of his shirt and hat, 163. 
Dick, Captain, defeated, 14i>. 

Esther, Queen, 152 ; prisoners escape from, 285 : Colonel Stone's apology for, 287. 
Follett stabbed and scalped, 213. 
Fortifications, ancient, 13. 
Forts, situation of, 56. 

Forty Fort erected, 136; strengthened, 30; capitulation of, 43. 
Franklin, Colonel John, opposes Colonel Pickering, 190. 

" Roswell, family of, carried off by the Indians, 212. 

Gardner, Richard, 351. 
Gustin, Dr., carries a flag of truce, 162; assistant surgeon, 201, 206; settles in 

Carlisle, 208. 
Hammond escapes from Bloody Rock, 2S5. 
Hartley, Colonel, marches against the Indians, 60. 

Hollenback, Colonel, comes to Wyoming, 100 ; enters the army. 102; escap 
the battle, 106; engages in grubbing, 109; returns to Wyoming, 11" : tra 
Canada — trip with John Jacob Astor, 116; followed by rdbhers, 118; i- a mag- 
istrate and judge, 119; character, 121; residence, 123; anecdote «>f, 1 "24 ; reso- 
lutions of the court— character by Judge Scott, 127 ; votes for Jackson, 131. 
Hopkins, Noah, life saved by a spider, 369. 
Hurlbut, Christopher, journal of, 405. 
Ice-flood, 178. 

Indians make preparations for war, 154 ; plunder the people in the fort, 162. 
Jenkins, Colonel, 388 ; capture by the Indians, 391 ; opposes Colonel Pickering, 
394 ; employed by General Washington as a guide to General Bnlliran, .°> '?> : 
the Pennsylvania claim, 402. 
Johnson, :-ir William, 31. 

" Guv, 32. 
I.a.kawanna, events at, after the battle, 221 ; flag of trace, 222 ; a singular triumph 
at, 225. 



432 INDEX. 

Luzerne County organized, 398, 414. 

Manning, Captain, his house defended by hot water, 141 ; removes to Lackawauna 
Island, 142. 

Marcy, Mrs., history of her troubles, 220; flees across the mountain, 227; a child 
in the woods, 228 ; reaches her father's, 229 ; account of the Pennamites, 230. 

Massacre at Wyoming, erroneous accounts of, 56. 

Monument, Wyoming, 376. 

Myers, Mrs., character by authors, 133 ; her account of her father's leaving Rhode 
Island, 135 ; coming to the Delaware, ib. ; visiting Wyoming, 136 ; removing 
his family, 137 ; his imprisonment, 143 ; hard toiling, 143 ; affecting incident, 
151; the battle, 156; separation of the family, 161; goes to Sunbury, 167; 
crosses the mountain, ib. ,' spends two years in the east, 171; returns to Wyo- 
ming, 172 ; usefulness, 173 ; account of the death of Satterlee, 183 ; married, 
191 ; subsequent history, 159. 

M'Allum, captivity of Daniel, 235. 

Nanticoke Indians, 11. 

Northern border wars, 31. 

Ogden, Captain Amos, heads the Pennamites, 139 ; repulsed, 145. 
" Nathan, killed, 140. 
11 David, attempts the life of T. Bennet, 144 ; drowns Satterlee, 183. 

Pencil shot by his brother, 371. 

Pennamite and Yankee wars, 20, 26, 180, 184, 215, 410. 

Pennsylvania, policy of the proprietors of, 19 ; lease Wyoming, 25. 

Pickering, Colonel, 190, 304, 395, 399. 

Pike, Abram, 304. 

Plunket, Colonel, expedition of, 149, 215. 

Plymouth Company, 21. 

Prospect Rock, 418. 

Ransom, Colonel George P., captivity, 317 ; whipped, 320 ; taken to Prisoners' Isl- 
and, 321; escapes, 322; great sufferings of, 324; marries and settles, 326; an 
assault and battery, 327. 

Rogers, Jonah, captivity and escape of, 304. 

Schuyler, Fort, invested, 33 ; siege of, raised, 36. 

Seminaries, 426. 

Seybolt, Mrs., her story of the battle, 221. 

Shawanese Indians, 11. 

Slocum, Frances, captivity, 239 ; her father killed, 243 ; family seek for her, 244 ; 
is discovered, 24S ; visited by her brothers, 255 ; second visit, 264 ; portrait, 267 ; 
her atory, 274 ; act of Congress, 2S1 ; last days of, 282. 

Smith, Dr. W. Hooker, 181, 201, 206, 219. 

Speedy, William, released from prison, 147. 

Sullivan, General, expedition of, 61; leaves a garrison in Wilkesbarre, 173. 

Susquehanna Company, 22 ; purchase of the Indians, 23 ; send on forty pio- 
neers, 25. 

Sutton, Esquire, settled in Wyoming, 101 ; visits Queen Esther, 202 ; flees down 
the river, 207 ; builds a mill, 210. 

Toby' s Eddy and Cave, 425, 42S. 

Tories, cruelties of, 46. 

Umbrella-tree, 417. 

"Van Campen, Moses, 304. 

Westmoreland, town of, 27 ; town meeting of, 28 ; erected into a county, SB ; com- 
panies of, organized, 29. 

Wyoming, name, 9 ; visited by New England people, 14 ; first settlement, 24 ; lives 
lost in, 26. 

Zinzendorf, Count, 14. 



THE END. 



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